These articles look at how AI tools are changing how chemists write, review, and learn, with practical insights for teaching and coursework.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of the everyday toolkit for students and educators in chemistry and related fields. Alongside these exciting opportunities come real challenges. For educators, AI introduces a new instructional responsibility: helping students understand not just how to use AI, but when to use it, why it matters, and what its limitations are. For students, it means learning to treat AI as a tool, not a shortcut, and developing the critical thinking skills needed to evaluate its outputs, recognize incorrect or fabricated information, identify biases in training data, and avoid practices that compromise scientific integrity.
ACS journals and Chemical & Engineering News have been at the forefront of this evolving conversation. This roundup highlights 10 articles featuring perspectives from educators and researchers who actively incorporate AI tools into their work. They explore the opportunities, risks, ethical considerations, and best practices of AI-powered chemistry education and research. Many of these articles are accessible, discussion-ready reads that can be easily integrated into coursework.
Using AI to Improve Writing Creativity, Productivity, and Quality
Philip Vassallo*
ACS Chemical Health & Safety
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chas.4c00070
AI-Assisted Tools for Scientific Review Writing: Opportunities and Cautions
Julio C. M. C. Silva, Rafael P. Gouveia, Kallil M. C. Zielinski, Maria Cristina F. Oliveira, Diego R. Amancio, Odemir M. Bruno, and Osvaldo N. Oliveira Jr.*
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5c08837
I Asked ChatGPT to Do My Research: Welcoming Artificial Intelligence to the Chemistry Education Research Team
Slade C. McAfee and Jon-Marc G. Rodriguez*
Journal of Chemical Education
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00958
Artificial Intelligence as a Scientific Copilot in Analytical Chemistry: Transforming How We Write, Review, and Publish
Adrián Fuente-Ballesteros*, Victoria Samanidou, Seyed Mosayeb Daryanavard, Ana M. Ares, and José Bernal
Analytical Chemistry
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c03767
Artificial Intelligence for Academic Text Generation in Analytical Chemistry: Current Risks, Indicators, and Perspectives toward Greener and More Sustainable Approaches
Adrián Fuente-Ballesteros* and Vânia Zuin Zeidler*
Analytical Chemistry
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6c00352
How AI is taking over every step of drug discovery
Aayushi Pratap
Chemical & Engineering News
Opinion: To leverage AI, chemists need to ask the right questions
Juliana Jansen Ferreira
Chemical & Engineering News
For chemistry educators: Designing AI-related courses and assessing student learning
Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry Research─Implications for Teaching and Learning
Sandra Berber, Mathea Brückner, Nikolai Maurer, and Johannes Huwer*
Journal of Chemical Education
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01033
A Preliminary Set of Principles to Support Learning in the Context of Generative AI
Melanie M. Cooper*
Journal of Chemical Education
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01413
Developing an AI Course for Synthetic Chemistry Students
Zhiling Zheng*
Journal of Chemical Education
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01699
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