Why I Use AI in Academic Work (and Life)

​

The latest (to 1 Oct 2025) co-created table can be found here: Co-created AZ conferences with ChatGPT. The reasons for why and how I created it are explained below. If you open the link on a phone, it'll likely ask you to download. However, if you open on a PC, it'll open in the browser (don't ask me why... yet!). 

 

While the debate rages on whether AI is ‘cheating, (eg see Cotton et al 2023 ( you can use the paper as a seed to find other papers by inputting into Research Rabbit)) or a means to enhanced learning, there’s also a critical need to understand that by rejecting AI, which is here to stay and will exponentially increase in its use in all parts of our lives, that we don’t also risk become obsolete (May 2025). In order to balance both remaining relevant by becoming (and staying) informed throughout the explosion of the AI era, while also, critically, maintaining ethical academic integrity (for example, see Atayri et al 2025), I’ve decided to embrace AI as a tool, one that, like any other, has limits and responsibilities. In my academic work, I’ve drawn clear boundaries: I don’t use AI to generate writing or do original thinking for me. But outside those limits, it’s become a genuinely helpful co-worker.

​

Why I Use AI to Track Conferences

​

For example, keeping up with conference calls in my areas of research interest (anthrozoology and postanthropocentrism) takes time. I’ve tried using Google Alerts, as well as signing up for email alerts on H-Net, but I receive so many emails it’s overwhelming and I can’t keep up the the mountain of data that I then have to try synthesise. I had started a conference (and relevant journal) spreadsheet several years ago, but this takes time, usually hours and hours to find the data, then update tables, and becomes quickly out of date, and of course, the spreadsheet doesn’t update itself. So I find information is scattered, some in emails, others buried on websites or shared informally by colleagues on social media. I wondered, as I started to become familiar with ChatGPT, whether Chat could help find, synthesise, update and format relevant conferences into a table that I could quickly look at to scan details and deadlines.

​

The answer was a resounding yes. The co-creation of a table took a few hours of work, and I had to seed the table with the spreadsheet data I had previously collected, but we eventually agreed upon the following column headings:

​

• Conference

• Dates Held / Last Held

• Location & Mode 

• CFP Open / Notes on Call

• Submission Deadline

• Frequency / Status

• Notes

• Official Link

 

Also, I asked Chat to use a traffic light system for deadlines (as my brain can react more quickly to signposting) and Chat (4 August 2025) suggested “​​Deadline Status emoji (🔴 past, 🟠 within 30 days, 🟢 more than 30 days out, ⚪ unknown”. 

​

It took several attempts (It took 147 prompts from me and replies from ChatGPT) to ask Chat to remove duplicates (as Chat became confused and repeated several of the same conferences that occurred over different years); add data for previous years even if the conferences no longer (currently) ran, add links (some of which may not work and need to be checked individually) and sort into date order. I also asked Chat to update the table weekly, which still takes an input prompt from me, but still, Chat will update the table. Of course, AI doesn’t (yet) replace human judgment (I still need to double-check to check if Chat has ‘hallucinated’ or has returned out-of-date content), but it gets me part of the way. Chat now reminds me weekly to check for updates, formats the list, suggests changes, and helps keep the list readable. The result is a shared workspace between human and AI, co-creating useful data that will save me time from now on, so I can focus on the substance of my PhD, the deep reading, synthesising, ruminating, thinking and of course, writing. 

​

The latest (to 25 Aug 2025) co-created table can be found here: Co-created AZ conferences with ChatGPT. However, what ChatGPT currently can’t do is post the updated my website weekly. So until then, I’ll leave the prompt we co-created here for anyone to use if they would like to create their own table.  

​

Want to Try It Yourself?

​

ChatGPT has a free tier, where an account can be made: https://chat.openai.com. As I was unsure of the required prompt, I asked ChatGPT “ if I wanted to share the prompt so other people could use this and type into their ChatGPT account to make this table, what is the prompt?” Below is the prompt ChatGPT gave me (4 Aug 2025). You could copy it into your own ChatGPT session and adapt the list of conferences to your field of interest.

​

​

“1. Short command phrase (quick trigger):

“Compile an up-to-date, de-duplicated table of anthrozoology / human-animal studies conferences (2024–2026). Include at least 50 events, prioritize H-Net Commons and official CFPs. Columns: #, Conference, Frequency, Next/Most Recent Date, Location & Mode (Online/Hybrid/In-person), Submission/CFP Deadline, Deadline Status emoji (🔴 past, 🟠 within 30 days, 🟢 future, ⚪ unknown), CFP Status, Notes, Sources. Order upcoming first. Include a legend and flag any new discoveries.”

 

2. Shareable template prompt (full starter):

I want you to act as a research assistant and build a comprehensive, de-duplicated table of anthrozoology / human-animal studies / related conferences (including symposia, workshops, and thematic gatherings) for 2024–2026. Search the web thoroughly—especially official conference sites, H-Net Commons (Animal Studies / H-Animal / H-Oceans), CFP aggregators, academic networks, and relevant community pages—to find at least 50 unique real events. If a conference has no confirmed future date, include the most recent year it ran.

​

Seed list to include (but not limited to):
ISAZ Annual Conference; Anthrozoology Symposium (Debrecen & Iași); AiP Student Conference; SCAS Annual Conference; Blue Animal Aesthetics Conference; NEPCA “Animals & Culture” stream; IAHAIO Conference; Women, Men, and Other Animals (ISIH); ISCH / Human-Nature entanglements; Animal History Group (summer & winter); EACAS / Critical Animal Studies; NAACAS Feminist Animal Studies Summit; Comparative World Literature Conference (ecocriticism/animals); Living with Animals Conference (EKU); Vegan Intersections; (Un)Common Worlds HAS Conference; One Welfare World Conference; Emerging Voices in Animal Tourism (EVAT); Minding Animals; Cats in Culture and Society Conference.

Output one table (no splits), upcoming/future events first, older/past toward bottom. Columns:

1. #
    

2. Conference
    

3. Frequency / Regularity
    

4. Next or Most Recent Date(s)
    

5. Location & Mode (Online / Hybrid / In-person)
    

6. Submission / CFP Deadline
    

7. Deadline Status (use emojis: 🔴 past, 🟠 within 30 days, 🟢 more than 30 days out, ⚪ unknown)
    

8. CFP Status (Open, Closed, Upcoming, Cancelled, etc.)
    

9. Notes (scope, special features, cancellations, etc.)
    

10. Sources (URLs or citations for where each row’s data came from)
     

Include a legend explaining the emojis and any formatting conventions. Highlight or mark any newly discovered conferences (e.g., with “[NEW]”) if they weren’t on the initial seed list.” ” 

 

Once your table exists, you can reuse the same ChatGPT chat thread and paste in:

“Update this table with any changes since [date], keeping the same columns, and mark what’s new.”

​

AI Use Disclaimer

​

While the information and tools shared on this page involve the use of AI to assist with academic workflows, please be aware, it is not infallible. Any content produced with AI should always be critically reviewed and verified for accuracy. So please remember to use AI at your own discretion and risk. 

Also, before integrating AI into your academic work in any way, you are responsible for checking your institution’s guidelines or policies on AI use. Different universities, departments, and funding bodies may have varying rules, particularly regarding authorship, originality, and integrity.

​

Nothing on this page should be interpreted as encouraging or endorsing AI use in ways that violate academic integrity standards.

​

References (co-created with MyBib)

( I usually use Mendeley for all my academic writing, however Mendeley doesn’t work with Google Docs and so for ease I’m using MyBib here. However, both Mendeley and MyBib need to be checked for accurate output.)

​

Ateriya, N. et al. (2025) ‘Exploring the ethical landscape of AI in academic writing’, Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences, 15(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-025-00453-1.

​

Cotton, D.R.E., Cotton, P.A. and Shipway, J.R. (2023) ‘Chatting and cheating: Ensuring Academic Integrity in the Era of ChatGPT’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 61(2), pp. 228–239. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2190148.

​

May, B. (2025) AI Is Here To Stay—Don’t Become Obsolete, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesagencycouncil/2025/03/19/ai-is-here-to-stay-dont-become-obsolete/.

​

Further Reading

​

Cowen, Tyler. “Everyone’s Using AI to Cheat at School. That’s a Good Thing.” Thefp.com, The Free Press, 18 May 2025, Available at: https://www.thefp.com/p/ai-everyones-cheating-thats-good-news.

​

Lira, Benjamin, et al. “Learning Not Cheating: AI Assistance Can Enhance rather than Hinder Skill Development.” ArXiv.org, 2025, Available at: arxiv.org/abs/2502.02880.

​

Rowsell, Juliette. “AI: Cheating Matters but Redrawing Assessment “Matters Most.”” Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs, 2025, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2025/02/28/ai-cheating-matters-redrawing-assessment Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.

 

As mentioned, you can find more articles by using AI tools such as Research Rabbit.