In this post, I share my own writing about artificial intelligence (AI). I also prompted ChatGPT and Writer to write a blog post on the subject. The prompt I used was: Can you write a blog post on How AI Can Help Scholars Communicate Their Research to a Public Audience?
How AI Can Help Scholars Communicate Their Research to a Public Audience (brought to you by me, a human)
I’m going to be honest here. I was nervous about using artificial intelligence. Let’s just say…I’ve seen The Matrix¹ one too many times.
Up until summer 2023, I was sticking to the old fashioned way of thinking and writing. My thoughts, my words, my processes. But I struggle with creative writing. I am not a great copy writer, a necessary skill as an entrepreneur and thought leader. I overthink every bit of content (blog, social media post, to-do list, etc.). And I tend to over write (a product of years of academic writing).
I began using various Large Language Models (LLM)/Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help me with copy writing, copy refinement, and idea generation. The projects I focused on were cover letters, content creation, and social media posts. It has saved me an unquantifiable massive amount of time. I wish I were joking here, but I’ll never go back.
Benefits
AI can help scholars translate their research papers into something that is short, snappy, and can lead to engagement. It can help you repackage your research into something palatable to the lay audience, to audiences outside your discipline, to policy makers, grant reviewers, etc.
AI can help you build abstracts, pull key points, narrow down your research, topic, papers, etc. down to a few sentences (though those sentences may need some tending to).
Your communication goal and content source may influence which LLM you can use. While some LLMs are connected to the internet (e.g., ChatGPT), unless you pay for this option, it is pretty limited in what it can do for academics who would like to use their 20+ page peer-reviewed papers as the main source.
On the other hand, Claude, which is not connected to the internet, can summarize text from Word documents, PDFs, and the like, sans the jargon. You upload the PDFs, let it do its magic, and out comes a summary of your request. Claude is much more applicable in the academic world.
Uses
You can use these tools to write social media posts about your research, outline blog posts, write blog posts, write pitch emails, suggest headlines and titles…pretty much anything your heart may desire.
You can use AI to:
- Share your newly published research paper on social media by uploading it to Claude, and ask: Can you provide a short and engaging summary of this paper that I can share on social media? I would like it to end in a question that intrigues the reader to engage.
- Connect it to current news by copying and pasting your abstract, findings, or conclusion into ChatGPT (be weary of the word limit in the free version) and ask: Can you summarize this and provide interesting ways to connect the findings to the current news?
- Outline a mainstream news article with AP Style by copying and pasting your abstract, findings, or conclusion into ChatGPT (be weary of the word limit in the free version) and ask: Can you outline a news article in AP Style?
- Generate writing ideas (prompt: Can you help me come up with topics I can write about related to research communication and today’s scholars)
- Create outlines (prompt: Can you create an outline for a blog post on building trust in research communication?)
- Build content in areas where you may have less experience (prompt: Can you help me develop a name and tagline for my blog?)
The key to effectively using AI to assist in your public communication is through the prompts. You want to ask clearly what you are looking for.
Prompts
Here are additional prompts you can use as you are playing with AI as you look to expand your research impact. You can/should adjust the prompts to fit your public communication goal. The output is only as good as the prompt you input. Feel free to tweak and refine these to match your goals.
- Summarize this paper with less than 2 paragraphs.
- Provide a summary of this paper for LinkedIn that is less than 6 sentences that highlight the research purpose, the findings, and what the findings mean.
- Can you provide a short and engaging summary of this paper that I can share on social media? I would like it to end in a question that intrigues the reader to engage.
- Can you provide an outline I can use to develop a blog post from this paper?
- Can you write a blog post based on this research paper?
- Highlight 4 key findings in this paper with 1 sentence each. Be sure to include emojis.
- Can you take this paper and write a short pitch email to an editor? Here is the submission guidelines and the paper.
- Can you help me come up with interesting ways to present this research to a newspaper editor?
- Provide a 280-character summary of this paper for Twitter that highlight the findings and what the findings mean.
- Can you outline a news article for this research paper in AP Style²?
- What are the key points in this article that I should include in an op-ed?
Warnings
I have found sometime when I am belaboring a chat or subject for too long, Sometimes AI can go awry, spitting out the equivalent of rubbish. Logging out and back in and starting a new chat can help with how it processes your request. You may also want to reword your prompt to be more specific.
And, according to The Matrix, we ought to fear the machines taking over the world as they learn more and more about our way of life.
Examples
Below are blog posts solely written by ChatGPT and Writer, respectively, with the prompt: Can you write a blog post on How AI Can Help Scholars Communicate Their Research to a Public Audience?
You can see how straightforward both posts are (in comparison to mine). But they lack heart and emotion (and it can be argued that my post also lacks these things), but I also appreciate the clean, direct writing.
Every writing task should have a goal and an intended audience that can guide your decision making on where and how to use AI.
How AI Can Help Scholars Communicate Their Research to a Public Audience (brought to you by ChatGPT)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we live and work. In the field of academia, AI is being used to automate tasks, improve research, and communicate findings to a wider audience.
One of the biggest challenges for scholars is communicating their research to a public audience. Academic writing is often dense and jargon-heavy, which can make it difficult for non-specialists to understand. AI can help to overcome this challenge by providing tools that can help scholars to simplify their writing and make it more accessible to a wider audience.
For example, AI can be used to:
- Generate summaries of complex research papers
- Translate research papers into other languages
- Identify and explain key concepts in research papers
- Create interactive visualizations of research data
These tools can help scholars to communicate their research in a way that is clear, concise, and engaging. This can help to raise awareness of important research findings and make them more accessible to the public.
Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way scholars communicate their research. By providing tools that can help scholars to simplify their writing, make it more accessible, and improve the research process, AI can help scholars to make a greater impact on the world.
Here are some specific examples of how AI is being used to help scholars communicate their research to a public audience:
- The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence has developed a tool called “SciBERT” that can be used to summarize scientific papers in a clear and concise way.
- The European Space Agency uses AI to create interactive visualizations of space data that can be used to educate the public about space exploration.
- The University of California, Berkeley has developed a tool called “MySciWriting” that can help students to improve their scientific writing skills.
These are just a few examples of the many ways that AI is being used to help scholars communicate their research to a public audience. As AI technology continues to develop, we can expect to see even more innovative ways to use AI to make research more accessible and impactful.
How AI Can Help Scholars Communicate Their Research to a Public Audience (brought to you by Writer)
The digital age has made it easier than ever for scholars to communicate their research to a wider public audience. However, effectively communicating research can still be a challenge. With the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), scholars can more easily tailor their data analysis tools and optimize their research communications. AI also provides valuable insights into identifying target audiences and provides real-time feedback to further strengthen public scholarship. In this article, we will explore how AI can help scholars communicate their research more effectively, provide examples of AI enhancing public scholarship, and conclude with an actionable call to action for readers to sign up for a strategy session.
How AI Can Improve Communication of Research for a Public Audience
In the digital age, scholars have access to a wealth of resources that can help them reach out to larger public audiences. However, making sure these efforts are effective and engaging can be a challenge. Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides powerful tools that can help researchers more effectively communicate their research and maximize its impact.
AI algorithms allow for tailored data analysis which helps scholars identify their target audience and pinpoint key topics to discuss in conversations around their research. This knowledge is invaluable for crafting messages or conducting interviews that will resonate with the intended recipients. AI also enables insights on how to tailor communication for maximum effect – including understanding which types of communication are most effective with different audiences, as well as which topics are most likely to generate interest.
Finally, AI-based tools provide real-time feedback on the efficacy of public engagement efforts so scholars can refine their strategies accordingly. Through this feedback loop, researchers gain an understanding of what worked best and what needs improvement – ensuring they are reaching as many people as possible in an effective way.
Overall, AI offers numerous advantages when it comes to communicating research with a public audience – resulting in greater understanding and appreciation of their work. With the right technology at hand, researchers now have unprecedented power to engage with larger audiences than ever before!
Examples of AI Enhancing Public Scholarship
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology continues to evolve, its capacity for supporting public scholarship has become increasingly evident. Researchers now have access to a range of sophisticated tools that can facilitate better communication of their research and help them engage with readers more effectively. Here are some examples of how AI can be used in this way:
1. Tailored Data Analysis Solutions
AI-powered algorithms are able to provide tailored data analysis solutions that identify target audiences and optimize research communications. For instance, sentiment analysis tools use AI to quickly interpret large amounts of text data and draw valuable insights into how people feel about a particular subject or area of study – key information for creating successful targeted campaigns.
2. Automating Reader Engagement
Chatbots powered by AI enable scholars to instantly respond to questions from readers without having to dedicate time away from other responsibilities. These bots can generate customized responses in real-time, allowing researchers the opportunity maximize reach while still engaging meaningfully with those interested in their work.
3. Curating Relevant Content
Keeping abreast of relevant information from both inside and outside academia is essential for public scholars wanting to stay ahead of trends in the field; luckily, there are now content curation tools that use AI technology which enable quick and easy discovery of pertinent material – perfect for informing decisions when planning out engagement activities.
4. Translating Research
Breaking language barriers is essential if scholars want to make their work accessible on an international level; fortunately, there are now translation tools available powered by AI which deliver accurate translations without sacrificing quality or accuracy – an invaluable asset for any researcher looking to broaden the impact of their research beyond local boundaries!
5. Real-Time Feedback
Finally, sentiment analysis tools driven by AI allow scholars receive instant feedback on how people perceive their work as well as gain insight into areas which may need improvement in order ensure maximum value is extracted from their efforts as a public scholar.
By taking advantage these powerful AI technologies, academics can amplify the reach and influence of their research as well as ensure it reaches its intended audience regardless geographical location or native language!
1 – i personally believe it is one of the most impactful and important films of my generation
2 – ChatGPT knows AP (Associated Press) Style, which is widely accepted as the format of choice for print journalist and editors.
