Future of AI in research to be explored in groundbreaking study
The way Government funding bodies use AI is to be investigated in a two-year study led by a Manchester Met linguistics researcher.
Dr Niall Curry’s UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Metascience AI Fellowship will look at how the growing adoption of AI is changing social sciences research, and the ethical and socioeconomic implications of those changes that affect all of society.
Working with key national and global researchers and policy makers, the UKRI-funded project will involve interviews and focus groups with academics in the UK and globally. It will ultimately lead to a set of official recommendations to government, industry and funding organisations about how they should use AI to improve research.
The final government white paper will share Dr Curry’s findings into how generative AI is currently used in social science research and spell out what needs to change in order to best support practice in the sector.
Dr Curry, Reader in Languages and Linguistics at Manchester Met, said: “I’m delighted to have been selected for this Fellowship, which has the potential to influence both national and international policy, as well as the day-to-day work of researchers.
“Using my specific expertise in language and linguistics, my goal is to understand how people in the sector are using and feel about generative AI, which is seeing an explosion in growth. The study will give people an opportunity to reflect on how this emerging technology is affecting their research, and whether the benefits like expediency are worth any potential sacrifices, such as quality.
“I’m looking forward to shedding light on these topical issues and, ultimately, to using my findings to shape and improve how AI is used in research.”
Dr Curry’s new Fellowship follows other recent high profile Manchester Met AI research activity including Professor Keeley Crockett’s contribution to the government’s AI framework and the university’s partnership with Manchester’s new Digital and AI Innovation Campus.
It comes as Manchester Met launches a new generation of degrees that combine AI with subjects including language, science and fashion. Dr Curry was instrumental in the development of the Linguistics with AI programme.
