Spotted: Global scholarship in many fields has been growing for years, with more researchers and scientists publishing larger numbers of articles. Trying to stay on top of the latest findings is a difficult job, even for someone immersed in a field. New company Consensus is using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the time burden of searching for the latest information.  

An AI-powered search engine, Consensus’ platform reads peer-reviewed articles to find research that addresses a users’ query. Search results are ranked according to their relevance to the query and quality of answers found. The Consensus team reminds users that the AI is trained on scholarly publications and is therefore not a general search engine that provides answers to basic facts.

Currently in beta format, users must set up an account to use the platform. Consensus provides an online best practice guide that includes suggestions for phrasing questions. The company also provides examples of search terms that return more limited results and explains the reasons why.  

The platform is constantly improving, and the Consensus team lists a few of the ways in which they are actively working to strengthen results, including broadening the AI’s understanding of text formatting in scientific papers and increasing the AI’s contextual understanding of a sentence.  

Academic publishing is complex, and technology is providing researchers with a range of new tools to help work more efficiently. Springwise has spotted a browser extension that automates citations and an algorithm that evaluates new research for its business potential.

Written By: Keely Khoury