The role of artificial intelligence in scientific research: a science for policy, European perspective
Purificato, Erasmo ; Bili, Danai ; Jungnickel, Robert ; Ruiz-Serra, Victoria ; Josefina, Fabiani ; Abendroth-Dias, Kulani ; Fernández-Llorca, David ; Gómez, Emili
Publications Office of the European Union - Luxembourg
2025
123 p.
artificial intelligence ; research ; science ; ethics ; research policy ; EU policy ; innovation
Technology
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/7217497
English
Bibliogr.
"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming the scientific process across all stages, from hypothesis generation and experimental design to data analysis, peer review and dissemination of results. In many research fields, such as the examined protein structure prediction, materials discovery and computational humanities, AI accelerates discovery, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and enhances reproducibility, while improving access to advanced analytical and computational capabilities. These developments align with the European Union (EU)'s vision to make AI tools and infrastructure more accessible, strengthening research in areas of strategic importance such as climate change, health, and clean technologies. However, this progress introduces new challenges, including concerns about algorithmic bias, the proliferation of hallucinations and fabricated data, and the potential erosion of critical thinking skills. AI adoption remains uneven across scientific domains, and addressing these risks requires robust governance, transparency and alignment with open-science principles. This report serves as the scientific evidence base for the European Strategy for AI in Science, offering insights to help policymakers navigate the challenges and opportunities of AI. It supports efforts to maximize the benefits of AI for research excellence and competitiveness in the EU, while maintaining a firm commitment to ethical, inclusive, and European values."
This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Digital
ISBN (PDF) : 978-92-68-31427-2
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.