RDA and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed various sectors, further driven by mainstream adoption of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT. This swift progress has sparked both high expectations and uncertainties about AI’s impact.
AI relies on data, software, and computational resources to generate outputs like predictions and decisions. Significant investments are being made globally, both by public and private entities. However, challenges like data quality, legal issues, and the digital divide must be addressed to harness AI responsibly.
Recognising these trends, the RDA is committed to fostering discussions on AI, providing a forum to explore opportunities and challenges for the RDA community and beyond.
Data Director Agentic AI Blueprint Working Group
April – June 2026
The Data Director Agentic AI Blueprint Working Group is a time-bound, eight-week initiative convened by the Research Data Alliance (RDA) in collaboration with Microsoft to develop an open, technology-agnostic blueprint for an agentic AI tool designed to support researchers in preparing and sharing data in compliance with FAIR principles.
Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research
October – December 2025
Agentic AI is changing how research is done. These intelligent systems can help with many parts of the research process, from reviewing literature and generating ideas to designing experiments, analysing data, and preparing publications. They have the potential to speed up research, lower costs, and make advanced research tools available to more people across all disciplines.
The RDA launched a global community consultation to identify priority areas where agentic AI can best support all stakeholders in the research ecosystem throughout the research lifecycle
Resources
RDA and Microsoft White Paper: From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the Future of Research Computing
RDA and Microsoft White Paper: Data Readiness and Data-Centric AI
AI in Action: RDA Global Workshops – Report
State of AI Pilot Workshops Report
Events and activites
A timeline of AI-related events and activities, including summary reports, organised for the community by the RDA Secretariat:
March 2026: What is Agentic AI? Information Sessions
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, 16 March 2026 | 16:30-17:30 | What is Agentic AI? Information Session | Recording and slides |
| Thursday, 19 March 2026 | 05:00-06:00 | What is Agentic AI? Information Session | Recording and slides |
| Tuesday, 24 March 2026 | 05:00-06:00 | What is a Data Director? Information Session | Recording and slides |
| Tuesday, 24 March 2026 | 16:00-17:00 | What is a Data Director? Information Session | Recording and slides |
| Thursday, 26 March 2026 | 05:00-06:00 | What is a Funding Finder? Information Session | Recording and slides |
| Thursday, 26 March 2026 | 16:00-17:00 | What is a Funding Finder? Information Session | Recording and slides |
Februrary 2026: LOVE DATA WEEK 2026 – Agentic AI in Research: Community Solutions for Data Challenges
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 12 February 2026 | 16:00-16:45 | Agentic AI in Research: Community Solutions for Data Challenges | Recording and slides |
| Friday, 13 February 2026 | 02:00-02:45 | Agentic AI in Research: Community Solutions for Data Challenges | Recording and slides |
November 2025: Global community priorities for Agentic AI development
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 11 November 2025 | 16:00-16:45 | RDA-Microsoft Information Session: Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research | Report |
| Wednesday, 12 November 2025 | 05:00-05:45 | RDA-Microsoft Information Session: Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research | Report |
| Thursday, 13 November 2025 | 16:00-16:45 | RDA-Microsoft Information Session: Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research | Report |
| Thursday, 27 November 2025 | 05:00-05:45 | RDA-Microsoft Information Session: Global Community Priorities for Agentic AI in Research | Report |
June 2025: RDA Microsoft Roundtables – ‘From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the future of research computing’
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 3 June 2025 | 15:00 – 17:30 | From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the future of research computing | White paper |
| Thursday, 5 June 2025 | 04:00 – 06:30 | From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the future of research computing | White paper |
May 2025: RDA Microsoft Roundtables – ‘Data readiness and Data-centric AI skills’
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 13 May 2025 | 15:00 – 17:30 | Data readiness and Data-centric AI skills | White paper |
| Thursday, 15 May 2025 | 04:00 – 06:30 | Data readiness and Data-centric AI skills | White paper |
February 2025: Workshops on ‘AI in Action: How Researchers Leverage AI’
| Date | Time (UTC) | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 13 February, 2025 | 16:00 – 17:30 | AI in Action: How Researchers Leverage AI | Recordings and report |
| Tuesday, 18 February 2025 | 05:30 – 07:00 | AI in Action: How Researchers Leverage AI | Recordings and report |
RDA Community AI Experts
Torsten Bloth
HPC and AI Blackbelt EMEA
Microsoft
Matteo Bunino
Fellow for Artificial Intelligence
CERN
Liu Chang
Professor and Principal Scientist
Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research
Pascal Elahi
Quantum Supercomputing Lead
Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre
Naoyuki Isogai
Asia Regional Head for Cloud Solutions HPC/AI
Microsoft
Mikael Johannson
Manager of Quantum Technologies
CSC
Harang Ju
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
Harshad Keshar
Data and AI Evangelist Microsoft
Mukkesh Kumar
Head of Data Management Platform
A*STAR
Ujjwal Kumar
Principal Architect Microsoft Asia
Kyong Ha-Lee
Director of Hyper-scale AI Research Center
Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI)
Haritha Thilakarathne
Cloud Solution Architect (AI) Microsoft
Future work
Given the transformative role of AI in research and its intrinsic relationship with data, and recognising the importance of valorising the expertise and engagement of the RDA community members, the RDA Secretariat has outlined the following plans of action to continue fostering meaningful dialogue and community-driven initiatives in this space. The following proposed initiatives are not limited to these and will be adapted based on evolving community needs and interests:
- The Secretariat plans to propose Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions based on community insights from the State of AI workshops, AI in Action workshops, and RDA Microsoft Roundtables.
- To identify the topics of the BoFs, the RDA Secretariat will deep dive in to the main focus areas identified, including Data Readiness for AI, Sensitive Data Management, Sustainable Infrastructure and Policy together with Reproducibility in AI research workflows, and the application of AI in Humanities and Social Sciences.
- A follow-up workshop series is envisaged to take place in Q4 2025 to consolidate insights, address emerging priorities, and promote best practices.
- The Secretariat will facilitate a community consultation process to assess interest in forming a Community of Practice (CoP) on AI, providing an ongoing platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Relevant RDA Groups
Artificial Intelligence and Data Visitation (AIDV) WG
This Working Group examines the promises, challenges, and barriers to the use of AI in data sharing and Open Science having regard to scientists and research institutions as well as to policy and the interests of patients, communities, health advocates, and those stakeholders otherwise underrepresented in these important initiatives for Open Science.
FAIR for Machine Learning (FAIR4ML) IG
This Interest Group enables community members to discuss the various aspects of FAIR as applied to Machine Learning, looking both at domain specific and domain-agnostic use cases, and creating task forces and working groups as needed for specific guidance documents, recommendations, definitions and technical specification to that.
RDA for the Sustainable Development Goals IG
This Interest group improves data management/sharing of SDG indicator data, based on implementation and adaptation of RDA outputs within workflows surrounding the SDGs and NGO development space more broadly.
Related Events
RDA Microsoft Roundtable: From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the future of research computing | June 5th
RDA Microsoft Roundtable: From HPC to Quantum – Shaping the future of research computing | June 3rd
RDA Microsoft Roundtable: Data readiness and Data-centric AI skills | May 15th
