Development of the ChatGPT, Generative Artificial Intelligence and
Natural Large Language Models for Accountable Reporting and Use (CANGARU)
Guidelines
The swift progress and ubiquitous adoption of Generative AI (GAI), Generative
Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs), and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT,
have spurred queries about their ethical application, use, and disclosure in
scholarly research and scientific productions. A few publishers and journals
have recently created their own sets of rules; however, the absence of a
unified approach may lead to a 'Babel Tower Effect,' potentially resulting in
confusion rather than desired standardization. In response to this, we present
the ChatGPT, Generative Artificial Intelligence, and Natural Large Language
Models for Accountable Reporting and Use Guidelines (CANGARU) initiative, with
the aim of fostering a cross-disciplinary global inclusive consensus on the
ethical use, disclosure, and proper reporting of GAI/GPT/LLM technologies in
academia. The present protocol consists of four distinct parts: a) an ongoing
systematic review of GAI/GPT/LLM applications to understand the linked ideas,
findings, and reporting standards in scholarly research, and to formulate
guidelines for its use and disclosure, b) a bibliometric analysis of existing
author guidelines in journals that mention GAI/GPT/LLM, with the goal of
evaluating existing guidelines, analyzing the disparity in their
recommendations, and identifying common rules that can be brought into the
Delphi consensus process, c) a Delphi survey to establish agreement on the
items for the guidelines, ensuring principled GAI/GPT/LLM use, disclosure, and
reporting in academia, and d) the subsequent development and dissemination of
the finalized guidelines and their supplementary explanation and elaboration
documents.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, protoco