Title: Transforming Multidisciplinary Research Through Artificial Intelligence
Chief Editors: Dr. Nagasudha R and Dr. Geetha V
Associate Editors: Dr. Aarti Sharma and Ms. P. Nithyashankari
Co-Editors: Dr. Madhumathi Reddim and Dr. Shishira Srinivasa
ISBN: 978-93-7183-019-5
Chapter: 16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59646/804/16
Author: Dr. Shaikh Tahemina Naaz
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming research not merely by accelerating existing processes but by changing how knowledge is connected, interpreted, and produced across disciplinary boundaries. Traditional multidisciplinary research often involves researchers from different disciplines working around a common problem while retaining largely separate conceptual and methodological approaches. AI introduces the possibility of a deeper form of convergence in which data, concepts, methods, and perspectives from multiple disciplines can be integrated dynamically. This chapter examines the emerging idea of the “Intelligence of Convergence”, referring to the capacity of AI-enabled research environments to identify relationships, patterns, concepts, and methodological connections that may remain invisible within individual disciplinary boundaries. The chapter discusses how AI can facilitate problem identification, cross-disciplinary literature synthesis, data integration, methodological convergence, knowledge generation, and research dissemination. It also proposes a conceptual framework called the CONVERGE Framework, consisting of seven interconnected dimensions: Connecting disciplines, Organising knowledge, navigating evidence, Visualising relationships, evaluating alternatives, Reconstructing insights, and Generating new knowledge. The chapter further examines ethical concerns, epistemological limitations, researcher agency, algorithmic bias, and the risk of overdependence on AI. It argues that the future of multidisciplinary research lies not in replacing disciplinary expertise with AI but in using AI as an intellectual bridge that enables researchers to move beyond disciplinary silos.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, multidisciplinary research, interdisciplinary convergence, AI-enabled research, knowledge integration, research transformation, CONVERGE Framework