AI in national research ecosystems

Background

There is broad recognition of the urgency to develop appropriate regulatory and institutional frameworks for the development and use of AI technologies in general, and for science and research specifically. Yet the extent to which these questions are being tackled at country level, and how, is unclear. Several initiatives by different international consortia of science and policy actors are emerging and championing different models of global governance. But these initiatives remain high-level and scattered, and their potential implications for national science systems are unclear.

There is therefore a collective need for national science systems to better prepare and adapt for AI, and to introduce frameworks – regulatory and others – that regulate the use of AI in science and research.

If we are to become proactive in preparing our science systems for AI, we must first clarify the state of the reflections on these issues in different countries around the world.

The project is funded through the IDRC grant aimed at exploring AI’s impact on science systems in the Global South and is a project through Science Systems Futures.

Activities and impact

• October 2023: the Centre for Science Futures hosted a workshop in Malaysia, bringing together leaders and experts from 12 countries from Asia, who have a national mandate in reflecting on the implications of, and responses to AI for science.
• March 2024: the first edition of the paper Preparing National Research Ecosystems for AI: Strategies and progress in 2024 was published.
• April 2024: a similar workshop was hosted in Chile to gather experts from the Latin American and the Caribbean region.
• February 2025: the second edition paper including more national case studies was published.
• September 2025: three primers that explore various technical dimensions of AI and its impact on science are published:
  • Considerations on the environmental impact of AI in science
  • Data for AI in science
  • Types of AI in science (coming soon)

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors.