Call June 2023
MCAA Newsletter June Issue 2023:
“Beyond the Hype: How will Large Language Models impact research practices?”
Guest-edited by Ruben Riosa and Nicoleta Spînu
Call for pitches
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to perform specific tasks which need the intelligence showcased by humans and animals. Though the origins of AI are older, the term was formally introduced in 1956 in the famous Dartmouth Manifesto. Yet not much progress happened until the late 1980s. This period is usually referred to as the “AI winter.” It was only in 1997, when IBM’s Deep Blue became the first computer to beat in a game of chess a Grandmaster, Garry Kasparov, and from that moment, the field continued to improve. Today, we are completely submerged by AI: think about informatics infrastructure, clouds, chatbots, smart homes, vocal assistants such as Alexa or Siri, and many more.
In the last decade, we have observed the rise of large language models (LLMs) for a wide range of tasks, such as predicting the next word (s) or sentences, e.g., the famous ChatGPT, to generative modeling of proteins. It is imperative to understand how these models work, their strengths, limitations, and their impact on research, discovery, and dissemination activities.
Each MCAA fellow took many courses and spent countless nights writing scientific papers and grant proposals, mastering PowerPoint skills, and reading countless articles. Will these skills be diminished by ChatGPT-like AI tools being developed today? How will the research and policy sciences be affected and/or can benefit from? How will science communication, policy sciences, but more generally, the world of research look like in ten or even five years?
In the June Issue of the MCAA Newsletter, we will focus on the wider impact of AI on the daily practices of the scientific community. What is the current status of ChatGPT, and what the future of science looks like?
What are we looking for?
Do you have a unique perspective on the future of LLMs and their impact on society?
Topics may include the potential applications of this technology and ethical considerations in research, healthcare, and education. We are also interested in articles that explore the limitations of these tools and the challenges that lie ahead in the development of such models.
If you have a point of view and/or personal experience within this topic, please let us know and submit your pitch (maximum 150 words), we would like to hear more!
Send your pitch by the 30th of March by submitting it to this form: https://wkf.ms/3SXZu5W.
Selection of pitches made by the 31th of March.
If accepted, please be aware that you will have one month to submit your full article, deadline: 1st of May.