Scientific research surged during COVID-19: Former IISc director
The University of Mysore hosted a conference on “Academic Publishing, Libraries, and Artificial Intelligence,” organised by the Mysore University Information and Library Science Alumni Network (MILAN) in collaboration with the Department of Studies in Library and Information Science here on Friday.
The event’s keynote speaker was P. Balaram, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who provided a thought-provoking analysis of the current state of academic publishing and the evolving role of libraries in the digital era.
Prof. Balaram began his talk by reflecting on the historical reverence of libraries as sacred spaces of knowledge. He contrasted this with the current challenges faced by libraries due to the digital transformation.
He expressed concern over the rise of predatory academic publishing, where dubious practices such as fake papers and unethical authorship have become prevalent.
Prof. Balaram discussed the surge in scientific research during the pandemic years of 2020 to 2023. He noted the immense volume of 10 million papers indexed in the Science Citation Index, with a significant portion focused on coronavirus research. The conference shed light on the critical role of scientometrics and artificial intelligence in managing and navigating this vast influx of information. With 117,000 papers dedicated to coronavirus research, the global scientific community demonstrated its commitment to understanding and combating the virus.
The keynote address touched upon other research areas that gained prominence, such as supercapacitors, deep learning, and photocatalysis. The impact of long COVID literature on journal impact factors was also discussed.
Addressing the broader challenges of academic publishing, Prof. Balaram emphasised the urgent need to tackle the issues of greed and the decline of scholarly integrity and advocated for the principle of free access to scientific journals while acknowledging the financial constraints that publishers face.
Prof. Balaram underscored the necessity for a public movement to reform outdated copyright laws to balance the interests of both publishers and the public. He concluded his talk with a reflection on the history of artificial intelligence in science, cautioning against over-reliance on technologies and advocating for a balanced approach to integrating technological advancements in research.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Lokanath N.K. highlighted the need to balance quantity with quality in India’s growth, especially with the rise of AI technology. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasised adapting to new technologies in education and business. He also stressed on maintaining high standards in publications and the crucial role of human decision-making alongside AI.
The conference brought to light the pressing issues in academic publishing and the evolving role of libraries, urging the academic community to strive for integrity, fairness, and balanced technological adoption in their pursuit of knowledge.
Srinath Srinivasa, Dean (R&D), IIIT, Bengaluru, Shalini R. Urs, former professor, DLIS, Prof Chandrashekara M., chairman, DLIS, Mysuru, Rajendra Babu H., organising secretary, MILAN, N.S. Harinarayana, Adithya Kumari H., DLIS, and others were present.
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