This workshop brings together life sciences researchers, federated digital infrastructures, and Research Data Alliance (RDA) communities to discuss real-world deployment of AI in research.

AI agents are already entering research workflows at multiple levels—from search assistants to co-scientist systems—but their deployment is outpacing our understanding of the user experience, governance, and data readiness.

During the workshop, we will explore:

1. What does success—and failure—look like?
2. What is AI-ready data?
3. What practical guardrails are needed for trustworthy and accountable agentic systems?

Participants are invited to share experiences and perspectives; identify gaps in metadata, provenance, and infrastructure; discuss concerns around “AI for everything”; and consider the skills and training needed for researchers, data stewards, and AI agents alike.

The workshop topics connect directly to sessions at the RDA 27th Plenary Meeting (P27), taking place in London from 6–8 October 2026. Our goal is to produce a brief white paper highlighting the workshop discussions and providing a launch point for further conversation and collaboration.

Registration required:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/ai-in-research-understanding-trust-federation-and-the-user-experience

Location: Conference Hall, The Foundry,
17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR

Workshop outline