Artificial Intelligence in Science and Society: The Vision of USERN
The recent rise in relevance and diffusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based systems and the increasing number and power of applications of AI methods invites a profound reflection on the impact of these innovative systems on scientific research and society at large. The Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), an organization that promotes initiatives to support interdisciplinary science and education across borders and actively works to improve science policy, collects here the vision of its Advisory Board members, together with a selection of AI experts, to summarize how we see developments in this exciting technology impacting science and society in the foreseeable future. In this review, we first attempt to establish clear definitions of intelligence and consciousness, then provide an overview of AI’s state of the art and its applications. A discussion of the implications, opportunities, and liabilities of the diffusion of AI for research in a few representative fields of science follows this. Finally, we address the potential risks of AI to modern society, suggest strategies for mitigating those risks, and present our conclusions and recommendations.
Authors
- Idupulapati Madhusudana Rao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8381-9358)
- Steven C. Hayes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4399-6859)
- Nicolas R. Gauger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5863-7384)
- Alice Plebe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8567-0553)
- Peter Parnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4279-5396)
- Robert Johansson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5547-3866)
- T. Dorigo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1659-8727)
- Fabien Lotte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6888-9198)
- Giorgio Vallortígara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-9062)
- Niloufar Yazdanpanah
- Stefan G. Hofmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3548-9681)
- Carlo Casonato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2491-802X)
- Mauro Da Lio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6619-9484)
- Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0471-8100)
- Fredrik Sandin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5662-825X)
- Marcus Liwicki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4029-6574)
- Juan J. Nieto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8202-6578)
- George Perry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6547-0172)
- Garrett Wallace Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6557-5353)
- P. Vischia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7088-8557)
- Nicole D’Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1917-6106)
- Artemi Cerdà (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5326-4489)
- A. Ustyuzhanin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7865-2357)
- Nima Rezaei
- Giulia Olivato
Institutions
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Valve (United States) (US)
- Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (FR)
- University of Nevada, Reno (US)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- University of Kaiserslautern (DE)
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- Universidad de Oviedo (ES)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- Luleå University of Technology (SE)
- University of Trento (IT)
- Constructor University (DE)
- Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES)
- Children's Medical Center (IR)
- Laboratoire Bordelais de Recherche en Informatique (FR)
- Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (DE)
- University College London (GB)
- The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
- International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CO)
- Australian Catholic University (AU)
- Texas A&M University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- IEEE Access
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2025.3529357
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Big Data and Business Intelligence
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 15.99
Funders
- European Commission
- National Research Foundation
- National Research Foundation Singapore
- Ministry of Education - Singapore
- Xunta de Galicia
- European Regional Development Fund
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación