Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research: Adoption, Productivity, and Skill Perceptions

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly expanding across various professional domains, including academia. Yet, limited empirical evidence exists on which academics are adopting AI, how it influences their research productivity, and what implications it holds for their skillsets. Contributing to ongoing debates on the impact of AI on scientific work, this study draws on original data from a recent large-scale survey of Italian academics to explore patterns of AI use, perceived effects on research output, and skill development. Our findings reveal that 39% of respondents report using AI, with significant variation depending on the type of research activity and stage of the research process. AI adoption is more prevalent among younger scholars and those engaged in applied or interdisciplinary research. Overall, AI use is positively associated with higher research productivity and with more favourable expectations about the impact of AI on researchers’ skills. However, the analysis also uncovers nuanced attitudes towards AI: trust in these technologies is not universal, and pockets of scepticism persist across segments of the academic population.