AI, Science, Post-Plagiarism: Lecture for an International Audience

Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University Yana Sychikova gave a lecture as part of the international project “Innovative University and Leadership – Transfer of Competencies”.

The topic is “Metascientific Ethics in the Era of AI and Post-Plagiarism” within the session “Artificial Intelligence in the Academic Environment”.

“Innovative University and Leadership – Transfer of Competencies” – according to the organizers – is a logical continuation of the program “Innovative University and Leadership”, implemented in 2014–2024 with the financial support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland in order to support the process of forming a new generation of managerial personnel in the Ukrainian higher education system.

The spring session of this project will take place from March 15 to 29, 2026 in Warsaw.

In her speech, Yana Sychikova emphasizes that the concept of post-plagiarism, proposed by Sarah Eaton, “does not eliminate responsibility” and despite the fact that “the writing process increasingly includes the delegation of certain tasks to AI tools,” and hybrid authorship is gradually becoming the norm.

The lecturer also draws the audience’s attention to the concept of metascientific ethics – the ethics of the conditions, structures and methods of organizing the production of knowledge. What is distinctive here is the shift in focus: from the rule-breaker to the question of “how the system itself is arranged, within which these rules arise and are violated.”

According to Yana Sychikova, such an approach will make the scientist’s contribution more transparent, maintain responsibility for the person and help “avoid both the prohibitive and formal logic of declaration.”

The vice-rector notes: “I have been giving a lot of lectures and speeches recently, but for the audience to keep you after an hour-long lecture for another two hours – you must agree – this is an exception. Incredibly lively discussions, polar or, conversely, unanimous opinions, laughter and arguments – this sets the rhythm and drive!”

Based on materials from Yana Sychikova’s Facebook page