How can artificial intelligence (AI) be used responsibly in the field of research to contribute to scientific progress? The Guild, the association of research-intensive universities of which UPF is a member, has just published a report that examines this issue and makes recommendations to the EU on how to strengthen its strategy for the responsible and effective development of AI.

In the report entitled “The use of artificial intelligence in research. Unlocking its full potential”, The Guild notes that, despite the understandable concern regarding the risks of AI tools, we must not lose sight of their potential to “enhance research productivity and quality”. AI can be useful for a wide range of research-related tasks: literature review, hypothesis formulation, data analysis, experiments, results dissemination, etc.

The document includes various proposals both for artificial intelligence to contribute to strengthening research in different fields of knowledge and to enhance research on AI’s own potential to improve European "resilience and competitiveness". The Guild insists that the EU should regain its leading position in AI research and that governments, universities and private sources of funding should align with a global strategy to this end.

What is The Guild asking the EU to do to promote the responsible use of AI?

The association also expresses its desire to collaborate with the EU to this end, after the European institutions have expressed the strategic importance they attach to this issue, with the recent entry into force of the first European regulation on AI (AI Act) or the Ethical Guidelines for Trustworthy AI (EU, 2019). Coinciding with the recent appointment of the new European commissioner for startups, research and innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, The Guild also makes the following demands of the EU:

1. To strengthen research into AI to enable AI in research, with greater financial investment. In general, to strengthen funding for Research & Innovation (R&I) and the R&I ecosystem as a whole.

2. To strengthen the use of AI in cross-disciplinary research, not only to strengthen the basis of Europe’s research in this field, but also to understand the uses of AI and its impact.

3. To develop and strengthen skills to use AI in research and foster talent among students and researchers.

4. To optimize and improve the technical and IT infrastructures and the volume of data available to researchers.

What challenges and opportunities does AI pose to European universities?

This report by The Guild was published on Tuesday, 19 November, after The Guild organized (on 6 Nov) the conference “AI in European Universities: Opportunities and Challenges”, in collaboration with the Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL) and the Paris Cité University.

At the conference, held on the PSL’s PariSanté campus, representatives of the different member universities of The Guild exchanged opinions on the subject with experts and professionals who are working in the field of AI, as well as with public policymakers in this field.

One of the two discussion tables of the conference debated how to maximize the potential of AI in the field of research and, specifically, to facilitate cross-disciplinary research. Similarly to the report by The Guild, the speakers spoke of the need to strengthen the infrastructure and the power of computer technologies available to research teams.

Adapting teaching curricula to new professional needs

The other panel discussion focused on the impact of AI on teaching. Throughout the debate, the focus was on the need to ensure fair and equitable access to the most cutting-edge AI tools, and several concerns were expressed regarding the impact of AI on teaching content. According to several experts, there is a risk that curricula will become obsolete in the face of the rapid evolution of AI, so there are important differences between what students learn and the skills required in the world of work. In this regard, the importance was highlighted of re-imagining training processes and promoting greater collaboration between universities and industry.

The conference was attended by the researcher of the UPF Department of Engineering, Vladimir Estivill Castro, along with other experts on the subject such as Michela Milano, director of the Alma Mater Research Institute for Human-Centred AI at the University of Bologna; and Martin Compton, the head of AI, Innovation and Education at King’s College London, among others. Estivill, an expert in AI and machine learning, is a co-author of the document Living guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research.

During the round table, Estivill reflected on the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities of AI and at the same time preventing its possible risks. Thus, while some voices consider the incipient European legislation to regulate AI as a hindrance to scientific progress, Estivill defended the need to regulate its uses. In this regard, he noted: “We just need to ensure that the apparatus that enforces the legislation is not bureaucratic and over conservative”. He also underscored the importance of raising awareness among and training researchers on the rules that regulate the uses of AI so that they can use it responsibly and in accordance with the law. In his opinion, the process to authorize research with AI must be streamlined and, if necessary, on occasions, heavy sanctions must be applied if the regulations are breached. He also cited some aspects of research in AI in which it is particularly relevant to apply ethical or legal principles, such as the elimination of biases, transparency, the robustness of research, the enormous cost of some large computational models or a better understanding of the processes with which it generates results, in many cases considered a black box. 

The latest of the UPF Engineering DeepTech Talks addresses the ethical challenges of AI

Indeed, last Friday, 22 November, the UPF Department of Engineering organized a conference on ethics and artificial intelligence, focused on the EU AI Act (2024). This conference is one of the Deep Tech Talks that UPF Engineering is organizing to celebrate its 25th anniversary.