ChatGPT can be both an assistance and a tool for misuse in academic publications, and this duality is at the heart of the current ethical debate. Used as an assistance tool, it can help authors with tasks that don't constitute a substantive intellectual contribution, such as improving language clarity, correcting grammar, or summarizing complex texts. For non-native English speakers, it can be a particularly valuable resource for refining their writing. Academics can also use it to brainstorm ideas, overcome writer's block, or quickly generate an outline for a paper. In this capacity, ChatGPT streamlines the writing process and helps authors present their original research more effectively.

However, the misuse of ChatGPT poses serious threats to academic integrity. The most significant issue is plagiarism, where authors use the tool to generate entire sections of a paper and pass them off as their own work without proper attribution. Since the content is newly generated, it can sometimes evade traditional plagiarism detection software. Another major concern is the potential for inaccuracy and fabrication. ChatGPT can produce "hallucinations"—plausible-sounding but entirely false information, including non-existent studies or fabricated citations, which can compromise the integrity of the research. For this reason, major publishers like Nature and Science have explicit policies that prohibit listing AI tools as authors, as they cannot take responsibility or be held accountable for the work. Ultimately, the ethical use of ChatGPT hinges on transparency and human oversight; authors must disclose its use and take full responsibility for the accuracy and originality of their work.