In short
The ERC Scientific Council states that using AI to draw up a research proposal does not relieve the author of full and sole authorship responsibility. That responsibility covers acknowledgements, plagiarism, and good scientific and professional conduct. Reviewers may not upload proposals to online AI tools. They may not use AI to summarise or assess a proposal. They may use AI to polish language or to search for information on the topic.
Permits AI. Applicants may use AI and stay responsible for what they submit.
For applicants
- Using AI to draw up a research proposal does not relieve the author of full and sole authorship responsibility. This covers acknowledgements, plagiarism, and good scientific and professional conduct. [1]
For reviewers
- Reviewers may not upload a proposal, or any part of it, to an online AI tool such as ChatGPT. Sending a proposal to an external AI system violates the privacy and confidentiality principle. [2]
- Reviewers may not use an AI system to summarise a proposal so as to avoid reading it in full. They may not use one to give any assessment of the proposal's merit, whether explicit or implicit. [2]
- Reviewers may use an AI system solely to access information or to improve language. Examples are polishing the language of their reviews, checking grammar and formulation, and searching for information on the topic of a proposal. [2]
Sources
European Research Council issues warning on AI's use in ... (opens in a new tab)
the use of AI in drawing up a research proposal, “does not relieve the author from taking full and sole authorship responsibilities with regard to acknowledgements, plagiarism and the practice of good scientific and professional conduct.
The use of AI in grant proposal evaluation (opens in a new tab)
The privacy and confidentiality principle is violated wherever the proposal is transmitted to an external AI system. For example, reviewers may not - upload a proposal, or part of it, to an online AI tool such as ChatGPT.
The non-delegation principle is violated wherever the AI system is tasked with understanding or evaluating a project proposal. For example, reviewers may not use an AI system to: - summarise the proposal to avoid reading it in full , provide any form of assessment, explicit or implicit, of the merit of the proposal.
Neither principle is violated where reviewers use an AI system solely to access information or improve language. For example, reviewers may use an AI system to - polish the language or to check grammar and formulation of their reviews, search for information on the topic of a proposal.
See European Research Council's 1 open program
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