Progress, Challenges, Threats and Prospects of ChatGPT in Science and Education: How Will AI Impact the Academic Environment?

The rapid development of AI, particularly in the form of language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is fundamentally transforming the academic and educational landscape. AI tools like ChatGPT play a crucial role in accelerating text generation, enhancing writing processes, assisting in literature reviews, and facilitating personalized learning. The development and adoption of Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), including ChatGPT, have sparked widespread interest due to their unprecedented capabilities in generating human-like text and automating communication. These advancements have a significant impact on various fields, including education and research, where AI-driven tools can optimize academic work and improve accessibility to knowledge. However, the integration of AI into academia comes with several serious challenges, such as algorithmic bias, data privacy concerns, ethical issues including plagiarism, and the potential decline in critical thinking skills due to excessive reliance on AI-generated content. While some educators and researchers view ChatGPT as a powerful tool for innovation, others express concerns about its impact on academic integrity and analytical reasoning. This review also compares ChatGPT with other advanced AI models, such as GPT-3 and BERT, highlighting their respective roles in science and education. An analysis of 159 independent literature sources, including 36 recently published papers on arXiv.org platform, indicates that interest in ChatGPT and its analogs in the field of science and education is rapidly growing. These studies emphasize the importance of AI in optimizing academic activities, improving knowledge accessibility, and developing new learning methods. The article concludes by discussing the future evolution of AI in academia, its integration with emerging technologies, and its potential for fostering interdisciplinary research in an era often described as the "new AI gold rush."