Unexpected Encounters and Methodological Turns: Navigating the Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence’s Unanticipated Presence in Qualitative Scholarship

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a silent presence in research for several years, and through various technologies, AI has become ever-present in qualitative studies. As AI continues to proliferate and its use expands both outside and within scholarship, the use of AI in research has evolved from a resource for qualitative scholars to a tool for study participants to use as they engage with our research studies. We had separate encounters with research participants using AI to author narratives in our dissertation studies. Through examples from our studies, this article explores the impact of AI use by study participants.