Crafting amazing scientific articles from scratch: A ChatGPT-assisted journey, minus the pitfalls

by Jorge Luis Alonso with ChatGPT-4o

After summarising over 250 scientific papers to master the art of writing persuasive articles using ChatGPT, I've discovered a reliable process. This method ensures that the information presented is accurate, accessible to a general audience and, most importantly, free of AI-generated hallucinations.

This article represents my first success in applying this process, and I'm excited to share both the finished product and the journey that led to it.

Many AI services that use large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and LLaMA, claim to be able to generate content with minimal human input. But to produce high-quality scientific writing, you need to take control of the process. No AI can replace the expertise that human judgment brings. What follows is the method I have developed for using AI tools to assist in the production of a scientific article, ensuring accuracy, novelty and clarity.

Phage therapy: A real-life medical miracle

A recent story that captivated me is the real-life medical drama described in The Perfect Predator by Steffanie Strathdee. The book recounts the terrifying ordeal of her husband, Tom Patterson, who fell seriously ill while on holiday in Egypt. What began as a suspected case of food poisoning quickly escalated into a life-threatening infection caused by an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. When he was airlifted to UC San Diego, where Strathdee and Patterson both worked, his prognosis was grim.

But rather than accept the limitations of conventional medicine, Strathdee, an epidemiologist, used her expertise to find an innovative solution to one of the greatest threats to modern healthcare - antibiotic resistance. That solution was phage therapy.

Phage therapy, which uses bacteriophages (viruses that target and destroy specific bacteria), is a century-old method that has recently re-emerged as a viable alternative in our fight against drug-resistant superbugs. This story inspired me to dig deeper and I knew it was the perfect topic for my article.

Writing the article: The role of AI (and human) guidance

I decided to focus on writing a fresh and insightful article about phage therapy, but with a unique angle that hadn't been fully explored. As I'm not an expert in the field, I used ChatGPT as a research assistant and editor to help me write the article. Here's how I did it.

1. Starting with a literature review. I first used Google Scholar to search for the most influential research papers on phage therapy. Specifically, I selected the ten most cited papers on the topic, which formed the basis of my research. I then uploaded these to ChatGPT and asked it to suggest three potential headlines for my article, along with reasons why each was both novel and relevant.
2. To refine the prompts, I relied on two specialised GPT applications: GPT Prompt Builder by Eric Porres and GPT Academic Paper by Ethan Mollick. These tools helped ensure that the content generated was focused and aligned with my goals.
3. Outlining and Researching. With a headline chosen, I asked ChatGPT to create an outline for the article. This was an iterative process: I conducted further research for each section of the outline, finding more relevant papers from Google Scholar.
4. ChatGPT then analysed and summarised the key points from these papers, providing a solid framework for each section of the article. The AI-generated summaries allowed me to quickly sift through the dense scientific content and identify the key findings that would best serve a general readership.
5. Drafting and refining. After the first draft, which ran to over 4,500 words, I asked ChatGPT to distil the content down to a more digestible 1,200 words, focusing on clarity, key findings and reader engagement.
6. Throughout this process, ChatGPT reviewed and edited the content to ensure the accuracy of the science and the tone of the narrative. I paid close attention to any areas where ChatGPT might have introduced inaccuracies (hallucinations) or oversimplified complex issues, as these are common pitfalls when using AI-generated content.
7. Finalizing with accurate citations. Once the draft was complete, I asked ChatGPT to compile and format the references for the 22 papers I had used in APA style. This not only saved time but also ensured that the article was well supported by credible sources, giving it the scientific rigour that is essential for any publication on such a topic.
8. Publication. I eventually published the article on Medium, confident that it presented phage therapy in a way that was not only scientifically accurate but also engaging and easy to understand.

Reflections: Finding the balance between AI and human insight

Writing scientific articles using AI requires a careful balance. While AI tools like ChatGPT can dramatically streamline the research and writing process, the initial process must always be informed by human expertise. In my experience, this hybrid approach - combining the efficiency of AI with the nuanced understanding of a human guide - can result in an excellent article that resonates with both scientific and general audiences.

Phage therapy is a perfect example. It's a cutting-edge but under-appreciated area of medical science, and telling its story requires more than just summarising research papers. It required thoughtful curation of information to ensure the narrative was compelling and accessible. By controlling the AI-driven process and infusing it with human judgement, I was able to write an article that I believe offers a fresh perspective on a pressing medical issue.