Reassessing how UK research funding systems change in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) could help “bring more joy” to the working lives of scientists, the co-founder of a new science policy thinktank has argued.
“AI is a massive opportunity for science but it also risks exacerbating existing dysfunctions that have distorted the research landscape,” explained Laura Ryan, who, with former ministerial adviser Ben Johnson, has co-founded Science Works, a research policy thinktank focused on “accelerating British science and technology”.
“For grant assessment we’ve seen the proliferation of applications to unsustainable levels thanks to AI but even at the level of the laboratory, this technology is having a huge impact,” she continued, noting the “unrealistic expectations” for frequent publication faced by early career researchers.
“We need to be careful that PhDs don’t end up becoming expensive technicians asked to carry out endless tasks created by AI,” continued Ryan on the growing trend for principal investigators using AI to generate hypotheses that are then tested by more junior researchers.
Having taken a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge and worked in neuroscience laboratories before becoming a science policy analyst at the Tony Blair Institute, Ryan is one of the few wonks with a clinical research background. As such, she is keen that Science Works’ output incorporates researchers’ views to ensure they directly benefit from its work.
