Generative AI and Information Literacy: Authorship and Authority

An important part of any research process is seeking out authoritative information. What this looks like will be different depending on the context of the research and the goal of the researcher but knowing who the author is and what authority they can claim over the topic they are writing or speaking about can do a lot to enhance the credibility of any piece of information.  

So what happens to our perceptions of authorship and authority when generative AI tools like ChatGPT are used to create a text or image?  

This guide will help you think about this question in relation to your own research.  

Learners who engage with the materials and activities in this guide will be able to:  

• Identify important aspects of authority and authorship in relation to the research process
• Describe the potential impact of generative AI on authority and authorship
• Apply critical thinking to the use of generative AI in their research and writing activities  

This guide was created by Allison Hosier, Head of Information Literacy, University at Albany, SUNY. 

Some content in this guide was generated by ChatGPT. 

Unless otherwise noted, photos in this guide are taken from Pixabay, a database of royalty-free images.