Scientists feel super negative about AI, new poll finds

Many scientists currently feel pessimistic about artificial intelligence, according to a Nature survey released Tuesday.

The new poll shows that 63% of respondents said that the risks of using AI tools such as large-language models (LLMs) to help analyze data and scientific literature outweigh any potential benefits. However, almost 60% of researchers believed they would lag behind if they did not use AI tools in their line of work, the survey shows.

Among the 1,907 scientists who responded to Nature’s survey, almost 48% reported feeling negative towards AI technology. By comparison, 30% of respondents said they felt positive about AI in general, while 22% felt neutral about it, the poll found.

“If you want to stay in the fight, you are left without a choice to adopt the use of some tools — particularly LLMs — to keep up with others who are using them,” Alexander Gibson, a PhD candidate studying clinical prediction models at the Queensland University of Technology, said, Nature reported.

Just 23% of respondents felt like AI technology is currently having a positive effect on scientific research, compared to 31% who believe that the technology was negatively impacting science. Still 25% of scientists said they use some form of AI model for research daily, while 26% use them on a weekly basis, 15% who do on a monthly basis and 34% said that they never use them, according to the poll.

AI tools can help scientists with tasks such as producing hypotheses, designing experiments, analyzing data and speeding up discoveries, according to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Though, using AI for scientific research may generate ethical concerns and can also cause issues if the technology makes mistakes when attempting to analyze data, per the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Additionally, multiple security experts and top artificial intelligence CEOs recently called for Congress to implement safeguards against potential biological threats from AI, The Wall Street Journal first reported on June 3.

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