Artificial Intelligence (AI), powered by data, is rapidly transforming research by accelerating discovery, reshaping methods, and redefining collaboration. Recognising both its promise and challenges, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) and Microsoft convened two global roundtables in May 2025. These virtual global events featured keynotes and breakout sessions with participants from across six continents on three core themes: Data Readiness for AI, AI in Research, and AI Governance.
Key Findings
Based on the insights, the white paper presents the following findings and recommendations for global research stakeholders:
- Develop interdisciplinary AI training programmes to build in-demand skills such as prompt engineering, agentic AI, data preparation, and ethical reasoning.
- Establish clear institutional and publishing guidelines for responsible AI use, transparency, and reproducibility.
- Advocate for human-centred AI strategies to reinforce researcher agency, ensure equitable access, and mitigate automation risks.
- Invest in automated data preparation tools, robust metadata standards, and dedicated stewardship roles to enhance data readiness.
- Support smaller, domain-specific AI models with curated datasets to foster inclusivity, reduce environmental impacts, and improve adaptability.
- Expand secure, privacy-preserving infrastructures such as Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and regulatory sandboxes.
- Mandate rigorous reproducibility practices, transparent dataset bias disclosures, and clear authorship guidelines for AI-generated outputs.
- Enhance global regulatory collaboration and adopt harmonised frameworks like the EU AI Act and UNESCO guidelines.
Summary Slides
This presentation provides a summary of the findings presented in the white paper:
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