Unit 4 - Writing

AI tools for the writing process

(How) can and may I use AI for writing?

Whether and to what extent you are allowed to use artificial intelligence for your term paper and how you have to mark this is determined by the lecturers in the declaration of independent work („Eigenständigkeitserklärung“) for the paper. In some subjects, especially in the humanities, independent and competent formulation is also a required competence that you acquire during your studies and should therefore also train and apply in term papers and theses.

AI can support you at various points in the writing and working process; however, it is very important that you are aware that the results of AI may be incomplete or even incorrect (hallucinated): Some works or content are "made up by AI". In the unit Risks and opportunities when using AI tools for research you will also find an overview of the risks and chances of researching with the help of AI. By declaring your indepent work (and signing the Eigenständigkeitserklärung), you assume full responsibility for the accuracy of the content of your work.

The AI can support you with your writing in the following ways:

• Help with formulation
• Collection of ideas for paraphrasing, i.e. rephrasing content
• Correction of spelling
• Translation of content

The best-known and largely free tools for this work are ChatGPT, DeepL (for translations) and DeepL write (for paraphrasing). An overview and selection of tools in the context of academic reading and writing processes can be found in German here.

Here you can find a search engine for various types of AI tools.

Further training opportunities for working with AI and handling large amounts of data are available here in Jena in the "Data Literacy Jena" certificate program and via the THInKI project ("Thuringian University Initiative for AI in Studies").

The AI Campus offers freely accessible self-study courses on the topic.