A Global Conversation Series

MachineCollaborators

What happens when researchers work with AI.

About

Researchers I know are already using AI to write code, run analyses, draft papers, and prep for class. Most of them are figuring it out as they go. The interesting question isn't whether they should. It's what happens when they do.

I started Machine Collaborators to make space for that question. Every two weeks, a researcher walks through how AI has actually entered their work, the parts that went well and the parts that didn't, and then we talk about it.

No sales pitches. No policy panels. Just honest conversation about practice.

Next Session

August 6, 2026 · 7:00 PM ET

Nicholas A. R. Fraser · Toronto Metropolitan University

Ethical, Effective, and Transparent Workflows: How to Set Clear Guidelines Surrounding AI Usage for Academic Research

AI poses existential questions for professionals in all fields to a large extent because clear rules and guidelines surrounding ethical AI have not been created yet. How do we set such rules and guidelines? Concerns and controversies about AI usage are rooted in ambiguities about the relationship between human principals and AI agents, and the key is to encourage transparent usage that clarifies this principal-agent relationship. Like data-manipulation computational tools such as R or Stata, AI agents are research tools that require training to use ethically and effectively by human researchers who direct the research process. By proactively establishing this principal-agent relationship through best practices devised through transparent experimentation, academic institutions can effectively mitigate the risks as well as seize opportunities offered by AI tools.

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