AI tools’ affordances for ethical and responsible research: Role of academic libraries

This study aims to investigate the role of libraries in the affordances of AI tools for conducting ethical and responsible research. It also sheds light on the challenges faced by research libraries regarding the responsible use of AI in research and how these libraries create awareness among researchers about the ethical use of AI. It is qualitative research that uses the phenomenology method to conduct interviews with 15 information professionals. Findings indicated that LIS professionals perceived that researchers use AI generative tools for plagiarism detection, instant help, reference and citation tools, and research assistance. The respondents indicated that authenticity and trust in research, data ethics and privacy, academic integrity, misuse of AI tools, originality of academic work, and threats to human intelligence and creativity were the major challenges to the ethical use of AI in research. Moreover, the status of AI literacy regarding the ethical use of AI generative tools in research is not satisfactory in libraries. The support of all stakeholders and AI literacy is thought to be fundamental for responsible research practices in an AI environment.