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Dr. Niels G. Mede

Science Communication Researcher
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Trust in science, trust in ChatGPT? How Germans think about Generative AI as a source in science communication

Journal article

Mike S. Schäfer, Bastian Kremer, Niels G. Mede, Liliann Fischer
JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, vol. 23, 2024
DOI: 10.22323/2.23090204
Cite

Cite

APA   Click to copy
Schäfer, M. S., Kremer, B., Mede, N. G., & Fischer, L. (2024). Trust in science, trust in ChatGPT? How Germans think about Generative AI as a source in science communication. JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, 23. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23090204

Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Schäfer, Mike S., Bastian Kremer, Niels G. Mede, and Liliann Fischer. “Trust in Science, Trust in ChatGPT? How Germans Think about Generative AI as a Source in Science Communication.” JCOM: Journal of Science Communication 23 (2024).

MLA   Click to copy
Schäfer, Mike S., et al. “Trust in Science, Trust in ChatGPT? How Germans Think about Generative AI as a Source in Science Communication.” JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, vol. 23, 2024, doi:10.22323/2.23090204.

BibTeX   Click to copy 

@article{schaefer2024a,
  title = {Trust in science, trust in ChatGPT? How Germans think about Generative AI as a source in science communication},
  year = {2024},
  journal = {JCOM: Journal of Science Communication},
  volume = {23},
  doi = {10.22323/2.23090204},
  author = {Schäfer, Mike S. and Kremer, Bastian and Mede, Niels G. and Fischer, Liliann}
}
Generative AI like ChatGPT has been diagnosed to fundamentally impact different realms of life. This includes science communication, where GenAI tools are becoming important sources of science-related content for many people. This raises the question of whether people trust GenAI as a source in this field, a question that has not been answered sufficiently yet. Adapting a model developed by Roberts et al. [2013] and utilizing survey data from the German Science Barometer 2023, we find that Germans are rather sceptical about and do not strongly trust GenAI in science communication. Structural equation modelling shows that respondents' trust in GenAI as a source in science communication is driven strongly by their general trust in science, which is largely driven by their knowledge about science and the perception that science improves quality of life.