Disciplinary Diversity in Academic AI Adoption

This study maps the adoption patterns of AI tools in academic writing by analyzing 7,953 AI usage declarations from journal publications. AI adoption increased from 62.6% (October 2023) to 78.2% (March 2025), approaching a projected 85% saturation level. Physical and Social Sciences show highest adoption rates, while Health and Life Sciences lag behind. ChatGPT dominates across all disciplines (67-75% of usage), with disciplinary preferences emerging: multidisciplinary research favors writing tools while Physical Sciences utilize more translation tools. Language-related functions comprise 80-90% of all usage, with discipline-specific emphasis patterns. Network analysis reveals Physical Sciences exhibit the most diverse tool ecosystem, with ChatGPT serving as the central hub across fields. This first comprehensive cross-disciplinary analysis of actual AI usage patterns contributes valuable insights for academic publishing policies and discipline-specific AI literacy development.