Archives > Volume 21 (2024) > Issue 1 > Item 02
DOI: 10.55521/10-021-102
Stephen M. Marson, Ph.D., ACSW, Editor
Marson, S. (2024). Editorial: A Follow-up on Artificial Intelligence. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 21(1), 9-13. https://doi.org/10.55521/10-021-102
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This editorial is a follow-up to an earlier editorial entitled: My Experience with Artificial Intelligence (Volume 20, Number 1). Since then, I had an exasperating experience with artificial intelligence and decided to unload my frustrations as a letter to the editor for the Journal of Technology in Human Services. As a reply, Dr. Goldkind (the editor) and her colleagues responded with a wonderful forum article which can be found in this current issue. Make sure to read this important forum article which can be found after the features articles published in this issue.
Following is the letter I wrote to Dr. Goldkind:
Dear Dr. Goldkind,
For the last five years, I have been analyzing Durkheim’s work on suicide in an effort to assist clinical social workers with clients facing suicidal ideation. I have been having problems finding criticism of Durkheim’s work published by psychologists. As a result, I decided to use artificial intelligence to assist me. Following is the dialogue:
ME: You gave me this citation: Lester, D. (2014). Durkheim’s theory of suicide as applied to the family: A critical evaluation. Journal of Family Issues, 35(13), 1826-1840. However, I went to the library, and it doesn’t exist in the Journal of Family Issues. Instead, there is an article entitled “A Double-Edge Sword.”
AI: I’m sorry for the confusion. It seems that the citation I gave you was incorrect. According to my web search, the article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, not the Journal of Family Issues. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2014). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(6), 631-636.
The article entitled A Double-Edge Sword is by a different author, Campbell, and it is about the effects of family support on suicidal behavior. It is not related to Durkheim’s theory of suicide.
I apologize for the mistake, and I hope this helps.
ME: I looked up the Lester’s article in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(6), 631-636. It is not there.
AI: I’m sorry to hear that. It seems that the citation I gave you was also incorrect. According to my web search, the article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, but in a different volume and issue: 44(5), 547-552. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2014). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(5), 547-552.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
ME: I looked at Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(5), 547-552. The Lester article is not there.
AI: I’m very sorry for the trouble. It seems that the citation I gave you was wrong again. According to my web search, the article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, but in a different year: 2015, not 2014. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2015). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(5), 547-552.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
ME: Volume 44 is in 2014 not 2015. I search the entire volume for 2015. There are no articles with Lester as the author.
AI: I’m very sorry for the trouble. It seems that the citation I gave you was wrong again. According to my web search, the article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, but in a different year: 2015, not 2014. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2015). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(5), 547-552.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
ME: In the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior for the year 2015, there are no articles in which Lester is the author.
AI: I’m very sorry for the trouble. It seems that the citation I gave you was wrong again. According to my web search, the article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, but in a different volume and issue: 45(3), 305-310. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2015). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 45(3), 305-310.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
ME: There is no article in which Lester is the author in 2015.
AI: I’m very sorry for the trouble. It seems that I have made a series of errors in providing you with the correct citation for Lester’s article. I have checked my web search results again and I have found the source of the problem. The article by Lester is actually published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, but in a different year: 2016, not 2015. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (2016). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 46(1), 23-28.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
ME: The article on page 23 is entitled “A Minority Stress Model for Suicidal Ideation in Gay Men” and it is not by Lester.
AI: I’m very sorry for the trouble. It seems that I have made a series of errors in providing you with the correct citation for Lester’s article. I have checked my web search results again and I have found the source of the problem. The article by Lester is actually published in a different journal: Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, not Social Forces. The correct citation should be:
Lester, D. (1979). Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide as Applied to the Family: A Critical Evaluation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 9(4), 201-207.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope this helps.
I was skeptical of this final response. As a result, I searched for David Lester on ResearchGate. He has an impressive publication record in the arena of suicide. He responded within minutes by telling me that he did not author any of the citations I received from artificial intelligence.
Is it reasonable to assume that if an answer doesn’t exist, artificial intelligence will fabricate one? Scholars who use artificial intelligence to assist in their research should be cautious.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen M. Marson, PhD, ACSW
Professor Emeritus