MLA Style: Citing AI Generated Text in MLA Style

Current status

• As of May 19, 2023, MLA's Style Center's recommendations on how to cite A.I.-generated content are based on their core template of elements.

General guidelines

• Cite content of any kind that was generated with the help of an A.I. tool – no matter if you paraphrase it, quote it, or incorporate it into your own work.
• Additionally, disclose any operational applications of an A.I. tool such as editing your writing through a note within your text or at another appropriate location. 
• Carefully examine any sources referenced by AI tools and give credit to them in your work. This is crucial as these tools can sometimes provide inaccurate information, and due to their operational mechanisms, they may generate ('hallucinate') false but plausible-sounding information and even sources.

Application of MLA guidelines

Template

How to apply MLA's template to citing generative A.I.:

Author
Avoid treating the AI tool as an author, in line with policies from various publishers, including MLA's journal PMLA.

Title of Source
Describe the AI-generated content, possibly mentioning the prompt in the Title of Source element if not already done in the text.

Title of Container
Name the AI tool in the Title of Container element (e.g., ChatGPT).

Version
Specify the A.I. tool's version as accurately as possible. Note that ChatGPT and GPT-3.5 are distinct entities; GPT-3.5 refers to the underlying large language model, not a version of ChatGPT.

Date
Provide the date when the content was generated.

Publisher
Identify the company that created the tool.

Location
Supply the general URL for the tool.

MLA-specific note: Use of external tools to make conversations with A.I. tools accessible

• As of March 29, 2023, MLA is currently the only style provider that officially suggests considering workarounds to make A.I. created text - specifically for ChatGPT - retrievable.
• As of March 2023, ChatGPT lacks an integrated function for generating a distinct URL for a specific conversation.
• External utilities like the Chrome add-on ShareGPT can create this type of link.
• When utilizing a tool like this, make sure to incorporate the exclusive URL produced by the utility rather than the generic URL.

For the examples below the user has provided the following prompt to ChatGPT: "Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald"

Paraphrasing in-text: 

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

Direct quote in-text:

When prompted, ChatGPT replied that "The green light is a symbol of Gatsby's ambition, longing, and desire for the unattainable." ("Describe the symbolism")

**When citing in-text like this you'll also have to provide a matching entry in your works cited / reference list.**

Reference list:

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt. ChatGPT, Feb. 13 version, 8 Mar. 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com/chat.