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Arma 2024: AI touted as aid to grant application support and early career researcher coaching
Research managers have been encouraged to experiment with and use artificial intelligence in their jobs.
Rupert Lorraine, director of the Arts Institute at the University of Plymouth, said he had a sense that research managers felt “overwhelmed and anxious about using AI”. Speaking in a session at the Association of Research Managers and Administrators’ annual conference in Brighton on 18 June, he said they should try to change their view of AI to see it as “less of a hurdle and more of a lever”.
Lorraine identified many aspects of research management where AI could help managers become more efficient in their roles, including in drafting letters of support for grant applications. He went on to demonstrate the use of an AI model to create an early career researcher coaching programme, complete with a website, in two minutes.
Lorraine encouraged attendees to think about auditing their workload and offloading their menial tasks to AI. He recommended that research managers should “prioritise their workloads, get comfortable, then expand their use case” on AI, adding that he used it regularly himself.
Drawbacks
But Lorraine warned that when using AI, putting in the right prompts is vital. “The output is only as good as the input,” he said, adding that research managers should take time to input accurate prompts when experimenting with AI tools such as ChatGPT.
He also pointed out that performance tends to fluctuate as companies fine-tune AI models. “AI could be helpful for skilled grant workers; I’m not suggesting [it] should replace them,” he said.
Lorraine told the audience that they should not input personal or confidential data into general AI models, as the data are “not secure”.
But overall, research managers “should approach AI use with care, confidence and curiosity”, he said.