Generative Artificial Intelligence and research training: possibilities and ethical limits in the development of Final Papers of Music undergraduates at a public Brazilian university
Research Training, Music Education, Generative Artificial Inteligence.
Considering the frequent reports from the academic community regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), its increasing integration into digital environments, and the context of a rising culture of disinformation we live in, this exploratory research aims to investigate the ethical possibilities and limits of its application in academic writing. This is an action research study conducted with four final-year students from a Brazilian Music Education undergraduate program, who received supervision and guidance on the ethical use of these tools in the elaboration of their monographs. After presenting the results of the diagnostic survey, which revealed a broad panorama of challenges in the research training context of the institution, I proceed to describe and analyze the main uses of GenAI made by the four collaborators, with reflections on the development of their work and the actions adopted in response to the observed challenges. Their interactions with the tools we used indicate engagements related to research conception, literature search, writing suggestions and methodological aspects, with the main characteristic being a lack of depth and detail, limited to isolated prompts (commands) - with little or no dialogue for refining the responses. Although interesting possibilities can be glimpsed in the applications explored during this study for the research training context, I believe that its uncritical and unmonitored insertion in undergraduate writing can compromise the guidance processes and the development of their critical-reflexive thinking.