Opportunities and Risks for Citizen Science in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Members of the public are making substantial contributions to science as citizen scientists, and advances in technologies have enabled citizens to make even more substantial contributions. Technologies that allow computers and machines to function in an intelligent manner, often referred to as artificial intelligence (AI), are now being applied in citizen science. Discussions about guidelines, responsibilities, and ethics of AI usage are already happening outside the field of citizen science. We suggest such considerations should also be explored carefully in the context of citizen science applications. To start the conversation, we offer the citizen science community an essay to introduce the state-of-play for AI in citizen science and its potential uses in the future. We begin by presenting a systematic overview of AI technologies currently being applied, highlighting exemplary projects for each technology type described. We then discuss how AI is likely to be increasingly utilised in citizen science into the future, and, through scenarios, we explore both future opportunities and potential risks. Lastly, we conclude by providing recommendations that warrant consideration by the citizen science community, such as developing a data stewardship plan to inform citizens in advance of plans and expected outcomes of using data for AI training, or adopting good practice around anonymity. Our intent is for this essay to lead to further critical discussions among citizen science practitioners, which is needed for responsible, ethical, and useful use of AI in citizen science.