Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence technologies have revolutionized the
research landscape, with significant implications for Digital Humanities, a
field inherently intertwined with technological progress. This article
investigates how DH scholars adopt and critically evaluate generative AI
technologies such as ChatGPT in research. Drawing on 76 responses collected
from an international survey study, we explored DH scholars' rationale for
adopting or not adopting generative AI tools in research, identified the
specific practices of using generative AI tools to support various DH research
tasks, and analyzed scholars' collective perceptions regarding the benefits,
risks, and challenges of using generative AI tools in DH research. The survey
results reveal two key findings: first, DH research communities hold divisive
opinions about the value of generative AI in DH scholarship; second, scholars
have developed new practices and perceptions for using generative AI tools,
which differ from those associated with traditional AI-based tools. Our survey
represents one of the first survey-based analyses on this topic. It has the
potential to serve as a building block for future empirical inquiries into the
impact of generative AI on DH scholarship.