Welcoming remarks
On 24 September 2025, Neth-ER hosted a hybrid event titled 'Impact of AI in Research'. Jurgen Rienks, director of Neth-ER, opened the event with a warm welcome on behalf of the organization and organizing members. He emphasized the opportunities and concerns related to the application of AI in science, related to ethics, reliability, scientific integrity and emphasized a need for legislation. He called for collectively working together on a strategy to integrate AI effectively and responsibly, to strengthen science and to safeguard European values.
Empowering European Science Through Responsible AI
The first keynote speech was given by Liviu Știrbăț, Head of Unit for AI in Science in the Directorate-General RTD at the European Commission. Știrbăț highlighted the importance of the exemption of regulation of AI for research and innovation, which has given way for new opportunities. He asserted the vision of the Commission to empower Europeans scientists and through their use of AI in science have the ability to accelerate innovation. He highlighted the importance felt regarding the implications of the application of AI in science internationally by the EU and the OECD amongst others. He described the advantages felt in the scientific field related to the use of AI, examining subjects such as meaningful interdisciplinary research. Moreover, he stated as well that there is an ambition to accelerate the uptake of the use of AI in scientific research. However, he also pointed out that there are opportunities to monitor and steer the impact that the implementation of AI has and to minimize the downsides in order to prevent a tsunami of low-quality research. In addition, Știrbăț discussed the upcoming Apply AI Strategy which is scheduled for publication on the 7th of October. He ended his remarks by extending an invitation to the AI in Science summit which will take place on the 3rd and 4th of November in Copenhagen where the Resource of AI in Science in Europe (RAISE) will be launched.
The Social Fabric of AI
The second keynote speaker was Prof.Dr. Gabriele Jacobs, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Culture at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and member of the Board for Social Sciences and Humanities at the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Professor Jacobs examined the societal normalization of AI, and how studying AI gives way for de-normalizing the normal. Prof.Dr. Jacobs elaborated on how large language models affect the practices of sciences. To give some examples: through researching with AI, to help with grant application writing and she furthermore affirmed how using AI in the peer review processes is an absolute no-go. In addition to the application of AI she also explored the application of AI in other aspects of society such as parental surveillance, AI as educational toy and AI in home control. Then, she made an overview of the consequences of the idea of the use of AI, without its implementation in i.e. protest policing and crowd-management. She further elaborated on the fact that AI is not narrowly technical but instead an assemblage of technicality, social practices, and infrastructures. She elaborated on the negative impacts that AI has and how these are symptoms of structural issues in society as a whole. Furthermore, she reiterated the importance of social processes in science and argued that these cannot be autocompleted. She linked this to the fact that these processes are matters of principle and not just regulations. Lastly, she affirmed that it would be advantageous to not automate certain processes as they can make way for pressures on oneself, even when a positive outlook on AI remains.
Intermezzo
The all-women's panel introduced interesting topics in their pitches such as the limited accuracy of AI, AI's misidentification of women as non-human objects in a military context, the adoption of AI amongst surgeons, keeping humans in the loop and the credibility of AI. The panelists were Dr. Denise Hilling (ErasmusMC), Dr. Saskia Haitjema (Utrecht UMC) Laure Le Bars (SAP Research & Innovation), Anja Reimann (Netherlands Enterprise Agency / RVO) and Dr. Elaine Zaunseder (policy officer, DG CONNECT). After these initial pitches by the panelists, moderator Sri Ganesan, Strategy Analyst at TNO, guided the conversation related to best practices of applying AI use in scientific research.
Difficulties of implementation of AI
Dr. Denise Hilling, surgeon and associate professor for development and implementation of AI at Erasmus Medical Centre contributed to the panel in relation to the implementation of AI in hospitals. She highlighted the limitations of hospitals' IT infrastructure and the need to upskill the hospital workers. She also affirmed the demand from doctors to make use of AI but mentioned as well how most AI models created for the health sector cannot be implemented yet.
AI as a Tool
Laure Le Bars, Research Project Director at SAP Research & Innovation contributed to the discussion in relation to the industry sector. She argued to use AI as a tool which can optimize and improve, to do things better, quicker and more efficiently. She emphasized that AI is a tool and therefore not magic, and that it can create biases.
Governmental intricacies
Anja Reimann, Head of Unit of Mission driven Research and Innovation at Netherlands Enterprise Agency / RVO advocated for a need to bridge the gap at the governance level between the national level, the military domain and the EU level. Recently, the RVO has published a guide on How to (not) use AI in grant proposal writing, which can be relevant for the audience.
Data is not enough
Dr. Saskia Haitjema, associate professor at the Central Diagnostic Laboratory and head of the Utrecht Patient Oriented Database at the Utrecht UMC highlighted the need for human interaction related to healthcare systems. She emphasized how better or more data is not necessarily the answer to all questions surrounding health care. She stated that to answer individual health care questions, a solution cannot be found with only data, and that one should also take into account deeply personal situations. She argued that these cannot be captured by data points.
Funding for research
Dr. Elaine Zaunseder, policy officer at Unit for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry in the Directorate-General CONNECT at the European Commission addressed difficulties in obtaining funding in order to facilitate breakthroughs within interdisciplinary research. She mentioned the fact that Horizon Europe is investing in AI in science but reiterated the need for public-private funding partnerships. She also mentioned how AI factories will be an advantage for scientists in Europe and that more talent is needed for innovation, highlighting the AI skills academy.
Panel conclusions
The panelists concluded their discussion with some key reflections. Subjects that were affirmed were interdisciplinary research, the use of existing infrastructures, a call for creativity, a call for not forgetting the negative implications, and how AI in science is good for competitiveness and for Europe. Furthermore, interesting topics that were mentioned in the Q&A included the need for a space where young European talent can land after their studies, advocating for a public alternative as a contrast with big tech. Moreover, the inclusion of human in the loop was explored as well as the subject of bias in healthcare.
Key Reflections
To close the event, a few key reflections were made by Prof.dr. Gabriele Jacobs. She summed up the discussion on the implementation of AI where she mentioned that there are different positions that can be as researchers. There is a need for a joint definition of AI and that one should pay attention to the implementation of an AI model already at the beginning of research. She reiterated a message of the panelists of the event that AI holds a mirror on inclusivity, bureaucratic issues and non-connected systems in our society. Finally, she stated that what we should remember about technology is that it also changes humans and not just the reverse.
Context
The event on the impact of AI in research was organized by Neth-ER, together with five member organizations KNAW, NFU, NWO, TNO and UNL. The event examined an exchange of views on best practices of applying AI in scientific research and its opportunities for AI innovation within the EU while also taking into account questions in relation to ethical concerns. The audience consisted of representatives from a variety of knowledge institutions, Commission officials, European stakeholder organisations and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Written by Laura van der Vleuten
