AI is an assistant, but not a substitute. Institute for Public Administration and Governance discussion of artificial intelligence in scientific research usage.
Within the framework of regular IPAG seminars Research fellow of the International Laboratory for Digital Transformation in Public Administration Aisylu Atayeva made a presentation on "AI in scientific research". She considered AI not as a substitute for scientists, but as an assistant, interlocutor and sparring partner at various stages of the scientific process, especially when preparing scientific publications.
Special attention Aisylu Atayeva paid to the capabilities of AI in working with scientific literature. Aisylu Atayeva emphasized that AI can significantly simplify and speed up the process of searching for relevant sources, helping to formulate accurate queries and filter out unnecessary information. Speaker presented specific AI-based tools for literature search and analysis, such as Perplexity, ResearchRabbit, Elicit, OpenAlex, ScienceOS, and others. These services allow one not just find articles by keywords, but also to visualize links between publications, analyze the content of texts, and even "communicate" with literature by asking questions and receiving synthesized answers. In addition, the speaker spoke about the possibilities of AI in designing literature lists in accordance with various standards, which significantly saves researchers time.
The speaker also touched upon the use of AI on some more creative stages of research, such as the development and verification of scientific hypotheses, and noted the limitations of AI in writing texts, emphasizing the need for a critical approach to generated content.
The seminar clearly demonstrated the enormous potential of using artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and quality of scientific research. The presented tools can certainly become valuable assistants for scientists in various fields of knowledge. However, it is important to remember that AI is a tool that requires conscious and critical application. Despite its impressive capabilities, it does not replace a deep understanding of the subject area, critical thinking and creativity, which remain key to conducting high-quality scientific research.