Dear HIFA colleagues,
We have now concluded our in-depth discussion about open access. The working group is meeting on Tuesday to review and agree next steps.
One of the things I've learned from our discussion on open access is that AI is largely dependent on information that is freely available (as opposed to content behind a paywall). We have previously discussed the current and future role of AI in decision-making, for the full range of health care from the parent with a sick child to the specialist in a tertiary hospital or policymaker in a ministry of health.
This suggests one of the major benefits of OA, but also one of its potential dangers.
The benefit of course is that all OA content is by definition accessible to AI and can thereby contribute to evidence-informed policy and practice. The more that AI develops, the more incentive there will be for researchers to publish open-access.
The danger is that much content is misinformation or of low quality. As Unni Gopinathan (Norway) has said, '[OA] has contributed to a proliferation of low-quality or poorly designed studies that must be screened, increasing the workload of reviewers'. Poor quality content will 'pollute' AI unless it is recognised as such. This relates to our discussion on preprints. As Suranjana Banik (India) has said: 'it is vital that preprints are interpreted responsibly'. He was referring to interpretation by health professionals, but this also applies to how preprints are used by AI.
Hopefully AI will be able to recognise low-quality or non-peer-reviewed content and adjust its analysis accordingly. As Unni has suggested, AI could be used by systematic reviewers (and others) to helpf filter out such low-quality or poorly designed studies.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org