"The European Research Council (ERC) announced a policy change for some of its grants: it extended the period in which some unsuccessful applicants would not be able to reapply. The ERC, Europe's premier research funder with more than €16 billion to disburse, was responding to a surge in applications, which appear to be driven partly by the use of artificial-intelligence tools."
"Many said that it was unfair, too sudden, too blunt, that it would discourage bold proposals and make researchers less able to respond to new advances. The council was right to rethink - and in the process it showed others how to listen to the concerns of the community."
"Funding bodies from Australia to the United Kingdom have seen a sharp rise in applications since 2022. This coincides with the advent of OpenAI's ChatGPT, the first AI chatbot to be publicly available worldwide. There is good evidence to suggest that many of these increases are AI-driven."
"Current guidelines from some of the world's key research funders allow limited use of generative AI in grant applications. In such cases, the guidelines state that it must be acknowledged and declared."
The European Research Council recently modified its grant application policy due to a surge in AI-assisted applications. Researchers criticized the initial policy change for being unfair and discouraging innovation. The council's decision to reconsider demonstrates responsiveness to community concerns. The rise in applications correlates with the introduction of AI tools like ChatGPT, which researchers use for various aspects of grant writing. Current guidelines permit limited AI use, requiring acknowledgment and responsible application.
#ai-in-research #grant-funding #european-research-council #research-applications #fairness-in-funding
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