“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Check with your instructor before using AI resources for your assignments. They may have policies about using AI-generated content, or have a specific way they want you to cite when you use it.
AI engines such as ChapGPT, Bard, or similar are not really intelligent. They are generative language applications that have been 'trained' on large amounts of text, and when given a prompt, they predict what word will come next in a sentence. This means that while they are useful for many things, they aren't 100% reliable -- an AI app may tell you that Pocahontas learned to paint with all the colors of the wind -- and they are not the same thing as an information source like a journal article or a book. An AI does not know things; it cannot exercise judgement, and when it produces citations, they are nearly always fictional. Exercise caution when using these apps!
The basic format for an MLA citation will be as follows:
"Text of prompt" prompt. ChatGPT, version date, OpenAI, date of chat, link. (Do not cite an author.)
Example:
“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
The MLA has put out some guidelines on using and citing AI-generated text. Here are some highlights: