A joint project by the University of Leeds and Aston University to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) tools research network has won £3.4m in funding by the Research England Development Fund.
The four-year UKRI funding will assess publicly available AI tools available for PhD research, and promote responsible AI uptake and innovation by researchers.
The Artificial Intelligence Researcher Development Network Plus (AI.RDN+) is being led by Dr Hosam Al-Samarraie, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation Design and Professor Arunangsu Chatterjee, Dean of Digital Transformation from the University of Leeds, along with Professor Phil Mizen, Professor of Sociology and Policy at Aston University.
The network will also include the eight Midlands Innovation research universities and the 12 universities that comprise the Yorkshire Universities consortium.
Together, through this network, we can build shared resources and approaches that ensure AI adoption in doctoral research is innovative, ethical and delivers real benefit for researchers and society.
Publicly available AI tools, like ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot, are being rapidly adopted in academia, but as well as the potential to reduce workloads, streamline processes and offer innovative ways to carry out research, the tools present challenges. This is especially true for PhD-level research, which occupies an important position when it comes to new findings and the translation of that knowledge.
Professor Chatterjee said: "This award reflects the importance of collaboration across universities to understand and shape the role of AI in research. By working alongside Aston and partners across the Midlands and Yorkshire, we can bring together complementary expertise and perspectives.
"At Leeds, through One Leeds, we have committed to embracing AI in a way that is responsible, inclusive and guided by our values. I am particularly pleased to see Dr Hosam Al-Samarraie leading this work for Leeds, bringing both expertise and vision to the partnership. Together, through this network, we can build shared resources and approaches that ensure AI adoption in doctoral research is innovative, ethical and delivers real benefit for researchers and society."
Identifying best practice
Very little work has been undertaken to understand the uses of publicly available AI tools used by doctoral researchers, their supervisors and examiners, in contrast to the attention directed towards usage by undergraduate students.
Doctoral researchers and their enablers feel ill-equipped in relation to the responsible and appropriate use of publicly available AI tools during the course of their doctoral research, and there is very little guidance from research and higher education institutions.
AI.RDN+ will respond to these challenges. It will carry out an extensive consultation process with PhD researchers, supervisors, examiners and research-enabling staff, such as professional services staff and technicians, to understand how publicly available AI tools are used to innovate and how its challenges are identified and negotiated.
Using this information, AI.RDN+ will create a resource base with guidance on what AI tools are available, how they can be used, and identify case studies of best practice. This information will be made available on a newly created AI.RDN+ portal.
Building skills
The network will also create training resources for all stakeholders, build skills and knowledge of publicly available AI tools and equip doctoral researchers and those that enable them with the knowledge they need for future research. As part of this, it will co-create and test guidance, training and professional and career development resources working with the 20 universities in the Midlands Innovation and Yorkshire Universities consortium. AI.RDN+ also has the potential to shape understanding and practice in the UK higher education sector and beyond.
As well as the universities, AI.RDN+ has the active support of a range of expert organisations, including Jisc, the UK digital, data and technology agency for tertiary education, research and innovation, the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE), Vitae, a trusted voice on research culture and researcher development, and the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB).
