In February 2024, we brought you a first installment regarding AI and grantwriting courtesy of colleague and guest writer Dr. Agnella Izzo Matic.
As you may imagine, the topic of AI as a whole and, similarly, AI as it relates to grantwriting and scientific writing is evolving. For a bit of background into what AI is, we point you to Dr. Matic’s post.
In this blog post we’ll focus on highlights and tips gleaned from some recent literature regarding grantwriting and AI. We hope this content gives you realistic expectations for how AI can help your grant writing and where you need to proceed with caution.
For busy researchers or clinicians, the idea of using AI to generate content and ideas can be tempting. AI may also be helpful for researchers whose native language is not English. And, indeed, there are benefits to incorporating the use of AI into the grantwriting process as long as its done with knowledge and awareness of what it can and can’t do.
Seckel et al. (2024) recommends having an initial draft of your application before engaging AI.1 This way, the idea, draft, data, and so on are yours. Najafali et al. (2023) tested ChatGPT’s ability to write the Specific Aims for an NIH R01.2 ChatGPT generated content guided by very specific prompts from the researchers.
Najafail et al. did not discuss the legitimacy of the content generated. As you may have already heard, one of the problems with AI is that it has led to issues of plagiarized content.
Once you have the initial drafts of the application sections ready, use AI to refine your content. It’s possible that more experienced researchers could more successfully harness the power of AI because they have more experience with grant writing and peer review processes and therefore can input more effective questions/prompts. Not only may a less experienced researcher obtain less effective results from AI, but we argue that they are also missing out on developing necessary skills as a researcher if relying on AI. Having a (human) colleague read your work and provide feedback can bring a wealth of information and possibly build collaboration.
AI can do more than generate words. AI tools like DALL-E-3 or Midjourney can help generate images. Type in a description of what you have in mind or upload sample images.
Always check resources used by AI. ChatGPT has been updated to search for recent information, eliminating the knowledge base gap that existed when it searched only through 2021. However, your application should include seminal works For example, you want to be sure that your application references recent works by leaders in your field, including possible reviewers of your application.
It’s imperative to thoroughly check AI-generated content – both words and images – as AI can present erroneous or inaccurate information. AI-generated content can also be biased. Users should also be careful with proprietary information.
One last thing: Sponsors are addressing the use of AI in submissions. There is a range of acceptability regarding AI among sponsors, so be sure to check your sponsor’s policies. Currently, NIH’s only policy regarding AI is that it does not allow the use of AI in the peer review process.
For those wishing to explore the possibilities of AI for grantwriting purposes, a suggestion is to test the possibilities when the stakes are low, not when you are racing to meet an application deadline.
AI has many benefits to the grantwriting process and it’s expected that this will continue to evolve. However, for the foreseeable future, it’s clear that grant applications will continue to need that human touch.
References
1. Seckel E., Stephens B.Y., Rodriguez F. (2024) Ten Simple Rules to Leverage Large Language Models for Getting Grants. PLOS Computational Biology, 1 March 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011863.
2. Najafali D., Hinson C., Camacho J.M., Galbraith L.G., Gupta R., Reid C.M. (2023) Can Chatbots Assist with Grant Writing in Plastic Surgery? Utilizing ChatGPT to Start an R01 Grant. (Letter to the Editor). Aesthetic Surgery Journal 43(8) NP663-NP665.
