Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Advance Translational Research
New report highlights the potential for artificial intelligence to accelerate the real-world impact of research
A new report by HEPI and Taylor & Francis explores the potential of AI to advance translational research and accelerate the journey from scientific discovery to real-world application.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Advance Translational Research (HEPI Policy Note 67), authored by Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Strategy at HEPI, and Lan Murdock, Senior Corporate Communications Manager at Taylor & Francis, draws on discussions at a roundtable of higher education leaders, researchers, AI innovators and funders, as well as a range of research case studies, to evaluate the future role of AI in translational research.
Key findings
The report finds that AI has the potential to strengthen the UK’s translational research system, but that realising these benefits will require careful implementation, appropriate governance and sustained investment.
Key findings include:
- AI could accelerate translational research by enabling faster analysis of large and complex datasets, supporting knowledge synthesis and improving links between disciplines. However, the availability and quality of such datasets remain uneven, limiting the ability of AI tools to support research translation in some fields.
- Access to AI skills and expertise is increasingly important and building this access into interdisciplinary frameworks will be a key component of driving translational research.
- AI can improve the accessibility and visibility of research, including through plain-language summaries, semantic search (search functions that utilise concepts and ideas and not simply keywords, giving a more accurate result) and new formats aimed at audiences beyond academia.
- There are clear risks associated with AI use, including challenges around reproducibility, bias, deskilling, academic integrity, intellectual property and accountability.
Recommendations
To ensure AI supports high-quality and responsible translational research, the report makes recommendations for research funders, institutions and publishers, including:
- Setting clear expectations for the responsible use of AI, including alignment with guidance such as the UK Research Integrity Office’s Embracing AI with Integrity.
- Investing in trustworthy and ethical AI, including work to improve transparency, reduce bias and support reproducibility.
- Strengthening support for interdisciplinary research, including better recognition of team-based work and clearer routes to access AI expertise.
- Supporting shared and open AI research infrastructure to reduce duplication and make researcher-developed tools more widely available.
- Encouraging data sharing and reuse, alongside investment in infrastructure that supports secure and responsible access to data.
Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Strategy at HEPI and co-author of the report, said:
The UK has extraordinary research strengths, but too many ideas struggle to make the journey from discovery to real-world use. AI has the potential to support this process by speeding up analysis, connecting disciplines and improving access to research. However, these benefits will only be realised if AI is used transparently, ethically and in ways that strengthen, rather than replace, human expertise.
Rebecca Lawrence, VP Knowledge Translation at Taylor & Francis, said:
We are grateful to all the roundtable participants and those who shared case study insights. The valuable discussions and the ensuing process of putting the policy note together has highlighted the benefits of working collectively to harness the power and opportunity that responsible AI use can provide for translational research.
By investing in interdisciplinary expertise, ethical governance and infrastructure, stakeholders can help transform translational research, enabling more of the latest research to deliver meaningful societal benefits.
Notes for editors
1. HEPI was founded in 2002 to influence the higher education debate with evidence. We are UK-wide, independent and non-partisan. We are funded by organisations and higher education institutions that wish to support vibrant policy discussions, as well as through our own events. HEPI is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.
2. Taylor & Francis supports diverse communities of experts, researchers, and knowledge makers around the world to accelerate and maximise the impact of their work. We are a leader in our field, publish across all disciplines, and have one of the largest Humanities and Social Sciences portfolios. Our expertise, built on an academic publishing heritage of over 200 years, advances trusted knowledge that fosters human progress.
Comments
Jonathan Alltimes says:
The conceptualisation is the wrong way round. Scientific discoveries do not cause applications or inventions. How science is incorporated into applications and how a situation of necessity conditions the design of applications or inventions is determined by the constitution of the technological artefact, its purpose, and its functions. Scientific discoveries about the rules of nature can enable better functioning of the artefact and alter is constitution, so weaknesses in the functioning can cause new searches for the scientific rules of nature using experiments. Pattern matching between the scientific rules of nature and the operational principle of an artefact can be made more accurate and efficient.
Computer-based technologies have caused a lot of social damage and have been proved not to be economically advantageous in terms of a sustained upswing in multinational economic growth. After decades, we are still in disagreement about how to regulate these technologies. I expect AI is likely to cause a lot of unforeseen damage.
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