One and a Half Years of ChatGPT – An Umbrella Review of Large Language Model (LLM) Perception Across Time and Research Fields

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have emerged as transformative tools across various research fields. To illustrate the development of perceived benefits and concerns of LLMs across research fields, this umbrella review synthesized findings from 116 systematic reviews. Additionally, we employed LLM-supported data extraction and reported its promising evaluation. Applications in medicine and education dominate the literature, with accuracy and reliability as prominent challenges across disciplines and generally more benefits mentioned than concerns. Thematic analysis of most benefits within the field of psychology revealed LLMs' potentials in empathy and emotional awareness simulation, help with clinical decision-making, and supporting interventions. There were no clear temporal shifts in the perception of LLMs, except for decreasing benefits in ethics and decreasing concerns in education. To inform further research on interdisciplinary applications of LLMs, we have made our full data set consisting of nearly 3,800 extracted benefits and 3,400 concerns publicly available.