Field diffusion · General science · Social science
Global survey measures AI use and trust gaps in research workflows
A global survey of 10,480 researchers measuring AI use, access, satisfaction, and trust across 117 countries or economies and 12 disciplines.
Summary
Springer Nature, Fudan University, and the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science released a global survey of 10,480 researchers. It finds substantial reported use of AI for information gathering and editing, lower use for tasks involving formal judgment, and persistent concerns about accuracy, hallucinations, integrity, and data security.
AI role
Researchers reported how they use AI tools for information gathering, writing and editing, peer review, and other stages of their research workflows.
Narrative role
This is a current, broad survey signal for how AI is entering the earliest stages of research work while institutional provision and trust lag. It updates the tracker's 2025 publisher surveys with a larger, cross-country view that distinguishes exploratory support from judgment-heavy work.
Caveat
The report is a publisher-backed self-report survey rather than a causal productivity study; stated use and satisfaction do not establish gains in scientific output, and no formal definition of AI tools was imposed on respondents.