AI’s role in science
AI’s growing role in science spans various fields, it acts as a catalyst for scientific breakthroughs and a key instrument in the scientific process. This heralds a new era of accelerated results; it pushes scientific frontiers and produces outcomes beyond the reach of current tools. This acceleration can help us tackle pressing societal challenges like climate change, health, and the green and digital transitions, while keeping Europe at the cutting edge of scientific progress. EU-funded researchers are already harnessing AI in ground-breaking ways, from improving cancer treatments to solving environmental issues and improving earthquake’s impact predictions.
Our approach to integrating AI in science aligns and complements the Commission's AI strategy and on the opinion of the Scientific Advisory Mechanism on how to responsibly integrate AI in the sciences. Working together with the European scientific community, our goal is to harness AI's vast potential while addressing the concerns of our citizens.
Developing a policy on AI in Science we have 2 key directions in mind
- accelerating the adoption of AI by scientists, by creating essential enablers such as improved access to data, computational power and talent
- monitoring and steering the impact of AI on the scientific process, addressing science-specific AI challenges such as preserving scientific integrity and methodological rigour.
To find out more check the policy brief: AI in Science: Harnessing the power of AI to accelerate discovery and foster innovation
Living guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research
The Commission and the European Research Area countries and stakeholders have developed a set of guidelines to support the European research community in their responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). These guidelines provide simple and actionable recommendations to the research community on their use of generative AI. They are targeted to 3 main research actors: researchers, research organisations and research funding organisations.
An ERA Forum stakeholders' document.
The guidelines follow the principles of research integrity and address the main challenges researchers face when using generative AI. As the technology is evolving, feedback from the community is welcome to keep the guidelines up to date.
These guidelines will be updated regularly to keep up with the very fast technological development in this area. The research community is encouraged to provide their views and ideas on how to improve them in future versions thanks to the feedback form provided.
Policy insights
The Scientific Advise Mechanism (SAM) has published recommendations how to accelerate the responsible uptake of AI in science.
An ERC foresight report on the use and impact of Artificial Intelligence in the scientific process.
Funding opportunities
Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation funding programme supports technological and societal aspects of AI development and deployment.
ERC grants support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields based on scientific excellence, including top leading AI research.
Funding for promising innovators and SMEs, to turn research into genuine breakthrough innovations.
European Partnerships bring the European Commission and private and/or public partners together to address some of Europe’s most pressing challenges through concerted research and innovation initiatives. The AI, Data and Robotics Partnership is the European Partnership in digital, industry and space in Horizon Europe.
Projects and results
This results pack presents 15 ongoing, or recently completed EU-funded projects that highlight various applications of AI in science.
Stories of particularly successful EU-funded research projects.
Publications
Issue 2023/Q2 – This edition provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of AI applications in research and innovation, ranging from opportunities and risks, to challenges.
WP 2023/04 - This paper provides new insights into the role of Artificial Intelligence in scientific research across various domains of science.
WP 2020/15 - Main AI trends, opportunities and challenges, and attempts to provide a picture of the EU positioning in AI science and innovation.
Latest
Research and innovation news alert: The Commission, together with the European Research Area countries and stakeholders, has put forward a set of guidelines to support the European research community in their responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Research and innovation news alert: The first day features the opening ceremony at 14:00 CET, a journey through the 40-year-old history of the EU R&I framework programme and discussions about its future, and culminates with the announcement of the Women Innovators Prize Ceremony at 17:00 CET.
