Applications of ChatGPT in Higher Education, Research and Development

ChatGPT in Laboratories and workplaces (I)

3.5. Laboratories and Workplaces

In general, ChatGPT is a powerful tool that has the potential to transform laboratories. By automating and improving a variety of tasks, ChatGPT can help laboratory technicians save time, improve the quality of their work, and accelerate the pace of laboratory research (figure 28).

Figure 28: ChatGPT's applications in laboratories and workplaces.

3.5.1 Safety and compliance

The safety of laboratories and workplaces is an essential part of ensuring the health and safety of workers and researchers in the laboratory and workplace environment [37, 38]. Laboratories may be hazardous environments, with various potential hazards, such as chemical spills, fires, explosions, and exposure to hazardous substances [39]. One of ChatGPT's applications in assistance of researchers and students is to provide safety recommendations and guidelines on safety procedures and protocols. Researchers, laboratory staff, and students can use ChatGPT to determine the appropriate safety procedures and protocols for a given situation. ChatGPT can also provide guidelines for safe operation and step-by-step instructions for the safe operation of equipment and machinery and can help users generate natural language responses. ChatGPT can generate powerful safety procedures and protocols, user-friendly resources, and safety training materials. ChatGPT's application in safety recommendations will help users better understand safety procedures and protocols, improve safety, reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, and promote safety culture within an organization.

In addition to these applications, ChatGPT can also be used in laboratory safety and compliance (figure 29). Chatbots based on ChatGPT can be used to provide safety information and guidance to laboratory personnel, helping to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. ChatGPT can also be used to generate compliance reports and documentation, ensuring that laboratory procedures comply with regulatory requirements.

Figure 29. ChatGPT response to: What are hazards of use immunosuppressive drugs in the labs and how can I protect myself and others who are working in the lab?

3.5.2 Experiment design

One of ChatGPT's main applications as virtual help in laboratories is to provide guidance on laboratory procedures and experimental protocols (figure 30). ChatGPT can analyse large amounts of data to guide users through laboratory procedures and protocols and to provide step-by-step instructions to perform safe and accurate experiments. ChatGPT can help ensure that experiments are conducted efficiently and accurately [24]. ChatGPT can assist students and early-career researchers in following the steps and procedures of their laboratory work and answering questions or doubts related to laboratory technology, equipment, and protocols. Technicians and researchers can also ask ChatGPT for examples, references, or diagrams to explain the concepts and processes involved.

ChatGPT's applications help researchers, students, and laboratory staff reduce the learning curve for new staff, reduce error risk, and improve safety and ensure that laboratory procedures are carried out correctly and efficiently. The AI model plays an important role in helping academic staff and laboratories reduce the time it takes to train new employees and students and ensure that employees are using the products correctly. ChatGPT can be used to conduct experiments. It can do this by following a set of instructions from a researcher. For example, ChatGPT could be used to conduct experiments on the effects of different drugs on cancer cells following instructions from a cancer researcher.

Figure 30. ChatGPT response to: Give me procedure to prepare hydrogel from glycerin and chitosan for bed ulcers.

3.5.3 Experimental data

Interpreting experimental data is a critical aspect of scientific research. It involves analysing and making sense of large amounts of data to draw conclusions and insights. However, the process of interpreting experimental data can be time-consuming and complex and may require expert knowledge in a particular field. ChatGPT can be used to analyse large amounts of scientific literature and experimental results and generate insights and predictions about experimental outcomes.

ChatGPT can act as an interface for the interpretation of experimental data. With ChatGPT, researchers can input their questions and queries in natural language, and the model can generate relevant responses to their prompts. Application of AI models in interpretation of experimental data helps to ensure that researchers receive correct and relevant information, which can be particularly important in scientific research where accuracy and precision are paramount. By automating the process of answering questions and providing information, researchers can save significant amounts of time and focus on other aspects of their research.