Executive Summary
This report aims to analyze the transformative changes that artificial intelligence (AI)
has brought to the entire scientific research process, presenting the characteristics of
AI-driven research paradigms, use cases at each research stage, and policy implications.
AI serves as the core driving force of the fifth scientific revolution following
empirical, theoretical, computational, and data-driven approaches, complementing the
cognitive limitations of human researchers and redefining the knowledge creation
process itself. In particular, AI is evolving into an intelligent research companion that
discovers patterns in vast datasets, performs knowledge connections across
interdisciplinary boundaries, and provides integrated support throughout the entire
research cycle from hypothesis generation to experimentation and data analysis. These
changes have not only exponentially expanded the speed and scale of research but
have also contributed to creating an environment where cutting-edge research can be
conducted without expensive equipment or specialized expertise by enhancing research
accessibility.
Furthermore, AI is establishing itself as a research infrastructure that solves
long-standing scientific challenges, pioneers new research domains beyond human
imagination, and enables real-time global collaboration.
In response, South Korea must also establish a policy foundation that actively utilizes
AI to enhance research efficiency in science and technology—the source of industrial
competitiveness—and achieve world-class research outcomes. To this end, it is
necessary to reestablish AI-driven research paradigms and explore the possibilities of
AI utilization across various research stages. Additionally, policy and technical support
must be provided to ensure proper application in research settings, based on a clear
understanding of AI's technical limitations and potential for errors, as well as sound
research ethics. Building on this foundation, we must proactively implement a safe and
reliable AI for Science & Technology environment for all by developing science and
technology-specialized AI models as the new 'operating system' for scientific research,
sharing research data and infrastructure, and developing reliability verification
technologies for research outputs.