Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S. and has published articles by more than 200 Nobel Prize winners
Baxter in February 2026.
Scientific American quoted Dr. Raven Baxter in a story on where artificial intelligence belongs in science communication, published online on August 8, 2026. The article, by news intern Mary Randolph, asked science communicators how they use AI in their work.
Baxter drew her own line. According to the magazine, she uses AI for coding and to understand what her audience is interested in. When she needs to learn a topic outside her expertise, she turns to other scientists instead.
"I'm hoping we can kind of rebel against it and get back to building community as science communicators and leaning on each other for information," Baxter told the magazine.
The story followed a week of debate over Hank Green, the creator behind SciShow and Crash Course. Viewers suspected a chatbot had written a line in one of his videos. Green said the line was his own, but he acknowledged relying on ChatGPT to research scripts. TechCrunch reported on August 1 that Green called his AI use "not healthy" and planned to slow his channels. Chatbot use was also rising. In June, the Pew Research Center found that about half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots, up from a third in 2024.
Scientific American framed the larger question as AI's less visible role as a research assistant. In the magazine's words, a chatbot "can start shaping someone's understanding of a subject before the explaining even begins." "Where communicators draw that line varies," the magazine wrote.
Three other voices joined Baxter's in the story. Kanta Dihal of Imperial College London said AI can help sift a volume of research that is "almost impossible to keep up with" at a human pace. Joe Hanson, host of Be Smart on PBS, called audience trust "our currency." Daphne Ippolito of Carnegie Mellon University warned of a "homogenization of language" when people lean on AI to write. The magazine reported that its sources were much warier of AI writing public-facing material than of AI used behind the scenes.
Scientific American was founded in 1845 and calls itself the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S. It says it reaches more than 20 million people a month across print, web, video, email and social media, according to its about page.
Baxter, a molecular biologist, makes science videos and music as Dr. Raven the Science Maven. Her University at Buffalo dissertation examined culturally responsive science communication.
The full article, "Science YouTuber Hank Green used AI to research his videos. His fans pushed back," is on Scientific American's website.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the launch of the Planetary Health Check 2026 at Climate Week NYC, where she interviewed climate scientist Johan Rockström and former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman.
Dr. Raven Baxter reports from the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, from the SDG Media Zone at UN Headquarters and the Unstoppable Africa business forum.
Dr. Raven Baxter launched The Science of Life, her newsletter on Substack, on Sept. 2, 2026, with a post answering thousands of comments on a crocodile's virgin birth.
