Applying artificial intelligence in the science & technology cycle

Abstract

The science and technology (S&T) cycle starts with Congress identifying areas that demand scientific advancements. The cycle continues with funding agencies distributing funds to researchers to investigate and advance these areas. These novel advancements are then reported in scholarly publications. Scientific advancements are ultimately expected to be converted into wealth, promoting economic activity, and benefiting society. It is not, however, guaranteed that the desired advances targeted by Congress are met. Scholarly publications encompass valuable knowledge about many aspects of the S&T cycle and may retain the key to many unanswered questions and support multiple, yet unoffered, services to users. Because of the data deluge, it has become necessary to rely on automated decision-making agents based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods to make decisions. This article introduces AI and proposes to relieve highly-specialized human experts from the position of decision makers and shift them to become managers of automated decision-making agents that can handle the data volume. This article will lay out research directions, technical challenges, and the benefits of applying AI in various steps of the S&T cycle.