Searching and summarising.
WHERE IT HELPS
Explaining an unfamiliar area Summarising papers you have obtained Identifying search terms Structuring a review
THE CITATION PROBLEM
Language models invent references. Fabricated citations look entirely real: plausible authors, plausible journals, plausible years.
Never cite anything without retrieving and reading the actual paper.
This has produced published errors and, in some fields, professional consequences.
HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY
Search proper databases yourself Obtain the papers Give the model the papers and ask questions about them
That grounds the answer in real material.
WHAT TO ASK
"Summarise the methods and findings of this paper." "What are the limitations the authors acknowledge?" "How does this compare with [other paper I supplied]?"
WHAT NOT TO ASK
"What does the evidence say about X?" without supplying the evidence.
You will receive a plausible synthesis that may not reflect the literature.
FOR SYSTEMATIC WORK
Follow established methodology. AI assists with screening and extraction, with human verification.
