Who Is Doing the Thinking?

Abstract

Examining the evolving challenge of doctoral supervision in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is framed by the question: who is doing the thinking? As AI tools increasingly mediate research processes, supervisors face growing difficulty in distinguishing genuine student cognition and GenAI-assisted outputs. Building on an existing guiding rubric for doctoral supervision in Statistics, an extension is proposed that integrates the responsible, transparent use of GenAI across the doctoral lifecycle, from topic and literature discovery, through methodology and data analysis, to write-up and defence. The revisions proposed for the rubric shift the role of GenAI from a productivity shortcut to a mechanism for enhancing critical thinking. It introduces expanded criteria emphasising transparency, verification, attribution, and development of AI literacy in students and supervisors. A five-level developmental framework is proposed, progressing from uncritical GenAI use to reflexive GenAI stewardship, cultivating independent, ethically grounded researchers.