Our friends at JISC have commissioned a very interesting research project being conducted at DEMOS which is investigating the implications of a group of technologies related to artificial intelligence and robotics for the work of researchers, including the ability to automate at least some classes of research work. The project is called Research 4.0: Research in the Age of Automation. This month they issued a very thought-provoking Interim Report with their initial findings and a discussion of the next steps in their investigation. The report is here:

https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Jisc-OCT-2019-2.pdf

A JISC Blog posting discussing this work is here

Clifford Lynch Director, CNI