ESO DOI Service

• Nazari, Pooneh [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
• Jerabkova, Tereza [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
• Patat, Ferdinando [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]

With the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) into various fields, it is crucial to understand their capabilities and usage within the scientific community. This study explores the adoption and impact of these technologies among astronomers using ESO telescopes, specifically in the context of proposal preparation and review. We shared a survey with the ESO telescope users to investigate this further. We received 827 responses and found that around 20–30% of the participants use LLMs when preparing proposals and about 3% of the participants use them when reviewing proposals. We also found that there is a divide in how the usage of AI is perceived when proposals are prepared/reviewed, pointing to the need for ESO to establish clearer guidelines. These guidelines will be released for the next period.