RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – So there was this conference recently, right? It was called Informing Innovation 2023, hosted by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. They brought together a bunch of smart people like librarians, business development professionals, consultants, and students to talk about all things related to life sciences. It was a whole day of learning and sharing, diving deep into topics like resources, search strategies, copyright, research basics, and more. And let me tell you, one topic that got everyone’s attention was artificial intelligence (AI). It’s like the hot new thing that everyone is curious about.
The director of life science intelligence at NCBiotech, Jessica Reece, organized the conference and she knows what’s up. She said, “AI is emerging as a viable research tool.” And she’s right, man. The possibilities of AI are mind-blowing. But at the same time, we gotta make sure the info we find and share is legit. We can’t just trust everything AI spits out, you know? That’s why this year’s agenda was all about exploring AI and its challenges.
They had this really cool keynote panel where AI practitioners shared their experiences. Michelle Cawley, who’s with the Health Sciences Library at UNC-Chapel Hill, talked about how she’s been using predictive AI tools for bibliographic purposes for years. And now, she’s excited about using AI for research and teaching students about it too, while also building information literacy. It’s all about the future, man.
But here’s the thing, verifying the sources that AI uses is gonna be a challenge. Right now, it doesn’t give credit where credit is due. But the panel had a solution – we can retrain the models used by AI. They gotta validate the technologies and tweak the machine learning models to make sure the output is solid. As Cawley put it, “AI is imitating not innovating. We help sculpt its output.” Ain’t that something?
So who attended this conference?
Well, there was this talent acquisition recruiter named Laurie De Sio. She wanted to learn more about using AI for talent acquisition, you know, finding the right candidates and all that. And then there was Sue Carson, a professor at NC State University. She came with her students from the Master of Microbial Biotechnology Program. They’re all about combining STEM and MBA studies to prepare for a career in the life sciences industry. For Carson, AI was a crucial topic for them to explore. They gotta know how AI tools like ChatGPT can enhance their work and how to use it ethically and responsibly. Knowledge is power, man.
But wait, there’s more!
The conference wasn’t just about AI, my friends. They also had sessions on using general tools for internet research, accessing free biomedical citation databases, and finding partners and competitors in NCBiotech’s company directory. It was a feast of information and networking opportunities.
And hey, if you need some help with research, don’t worry. NCBiotech’s Life Science Intelligence team has got your back. They can be your research arm, providing market insights, connecting you with resources, and teaching you the best strategies for finding info. Just reach out to them, man.
(C) N.C. Biotech Center
