FAQ: Can AI (like ChatGPT) generate a list of sources based on my topic?

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by OpenAI that has received a lot of attention and usage since its launch in November 2022. There are many other AI-based tools as well, but ChatGPT is one of the most widely-used. 

ChatGPT does NOT work like Google or the library databases in terms of searching for articles on your topic. For example, prompting ChatGPT to "find me sources on my topic of the ethical implications of artificial intelligence" will generate articles that seem like legitimate citations. However, these articles usually do not exist in reality and searching in the Shapiro library or Google will give you no results for the specific article ChatGPT has generated. This is because ChatGPT, unlike Google or the Shapiro Library, does not have the capability to search for existing sources on a topic. Instead, it is generating what it thinks an example of a source for a certain topic could be, not providing articles that actually exist. 

If you are looking for help finding credible sources, you can reach out to a SNHU librarian by sending an email to ask@snhu.libanswers.com or clicking on the "Chat 24/7 with a Librarian" button at the top right corner of this page.

Content authored by: AG