StatsPD@Waite meeting: Rethinking Research and Development in the Age of AI

Every month, the professional development meetings of statisticians and data scientists at Waite, known as StatsPD@Waite, bring together specialists in various aspects of data sciences in agriculture from Waite, Roseworthy and Adelaide.

Date: Tue, 20 October 2026, 10:00-11:00 AM (Adelaide)

Location: Hybrid – Zoom meeting & SET WT Waite Building 204 Meeting Room

Contact: biometryhub@adelaide.edu.au

Presenter: Emi Tanaka, ANU Lead for Analytics of the Australian Grains Industry

Rethinking Research and Development in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most significant technological disruptors of our time, and it is reshaping how research and software development are done. Today, even a novice can produce a plausible-looking but unvalidated research paper or software package with relatively little effort. As AI adoption grows and AI becomes capable of increasingly difficult tasks, we have to rethink what it means to do research and development, and ultimately, what our roles as researchers and developers are.

In this talk, I will reflect on trends I am seeing as Editor-in-Chief of the R Journal, and explore both the risks and the opportunities that AI brings to research and software development. I will also share perspectives from ongoing conversations across a range of communities, and invite discussion on how we shape our roles.