AI-assisted pre-screening of biomedical research proposals: ethical considerations and the pilot case of "la Caixa" Foundation

Abstract The “la Caixa” Foundation has been experimenting with AI-assisted decision-making geared towards alleviating the administrative burden associated with the evaluation pipeline of its flagship funding programme, piloting an algorithm to detect immature project proposals before they reach the peer-review stage, and suggest their removal from the selection process to a human overseer. In this paper, we explore existing uses of AI by publishers and research funding organisations to automate their selection pipelines, in addition to analysing the conditions under which the focal case corresponds to a responsible use of AI and the extent to which these conditions are met by the current implementation, highlighting challenges and areas of improvement. ‘This is the full article accepted into Data for Policy 2024 Conference. A final Version of Record (incorporating any changes made during copyediting and proofing) will be published in the Data & Policy journal at Cambridge University Press, alongside the rest of the Data for Policy Conference 2024 Proceedings.’