Research assistant positions in labs are a key entry job for students looking to enter research. These positions are critical for a student’s career development, and to maintain the quality of academic research; without them, both students and the research ecosystem suffer. These paid opportunities provide hands-on experience, which may help open up the opportunity to be a lead researcher. Now, in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), some research labs are integrating GenAI into their toolkit. Will this lead to a decline of entry-level research jobs, or eliminate some altogether? The speculative answers are worrying, at best. Let me be clear: the integration of GenAI in entry-level positions should be treated with caution, and its users should always have its future impacts in mind.
The basic steps of an experimental research process can be as follows: identify a specific topic, research it, select a niche, design and conduct an appropriate experiment, analyze findings, and write a paper to summarize this process. This work requires a combination of technical knowledge, creativity, and interpersonal skills — which is not yet replicable by GenAI. Moreover, these skills take time to develop by researchers, and the use of GenAI undermines this learning experience for budding professionals by removing the steps of data analysis. Companies claim that GenAI is skilled at identifying correlations and clusters of data, sorting large amounts of data quickly, and providing predictions based on the data it’s fed. Still, it will not have the ability to interpret the root cause of data from a culturally sensitive perspective, identify the causes of clear outliers in data, or problem solve when faced with complications. Other than that, there are issues that may arise related to research integrity due to concerns of ethics.
Currently, approximately 76% of researchers have admitted to using AI in some capacity in their research — according to a survey by the Oxford University Press. Even in other contexts, it seems that researchers are increasingly integrating GenAI in ways that may change the research assistant’s role, shown by the growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed for research, and the increasing AI use guidelines provided in research companies’ websites. As AI adoption grows, the question of the displacement of students from these positions becomes more concerning. Some suspect it is likely these assistant positions will be limited if AI is used widely, since AI is more efficient than humans with certain tasks, and can produce helpful analyses in short periods of time.
However, other than the impact on students’ careers, it’s also important to note the environmental impacts of AI. By 2040, it is anticipated that the AI industry will produce 14% of the global emissions of greenhouse gases. A student in the research assistant role will consume roughly the same amount of water they would have without this opportunity; whereas AI will consume fresh non-renewable water to cool off its data centres while occupying a student’s potential work experience position.
Moreover, it is already understood that AI poses high levels of privacy breach risks. Which sounds frightening in general, but is even more problematic in research. For one, protection of data guarantees the protection of participants of any given study. But, would a participant be willing to share their answers if there’s a possibility their answer wouldn’t remain confidential? No, they wouldn’t be as willing to answer truthfully when the answer is related to sensitive topics. Which poses a significant issue, considering how important it is to provide rigorous literature that represents marginalized communities. There’s a valid reason why standards regarding privacy and confidentiality are considered a cornerstone of ethical research.
Which takes us back to the relevance of having ample opportunities for students to enter research. The quality of future research depends on the quality and quantity of entry-level positions now. Students pursuing a career require relevant experience in research to qualify for more ambitious research positions. While in school, it is imperative that these paid opportunities remain an option for students with limited time and finances. Financial hardships are already a prominent problem for students in the current economy and housing markets. Taking away another opportunity is not a good way to go from here.
Budding researchers are the next generation, and it is the responsibility of all education institutions to ensure the protection of entry-level positions.
Institutions need to remain vigilant of the importance of research, and remember that their research exists in an ecosystem of past, present, and future academics. Ultimately, maintaining these entry-level roles is about both supporting students and preserving the integrity of the research field.
