rEsearch was a time-consuming procedure in the early 1990s when he was pursuing M. Phil. In English lliterature. For weeks and months, I browsed library shelves, took handwritten notes, and meticulously read the discussion. Even the most basic resources required time and patience. By the late 1990s, when I was in my PhD, digital bibliography replaced the library’s old card system, reducing months of effort to weeks.
As I became a research supervisor, I look at a different world. Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs can sum up all your works, including novels, critical essays and poetry collections in seconds, providing character analysis, theme overviews and immediate access to appropriate secondary sources. This technical breakthrough raises important questions. Should research still take years to come in an age where basic data is available instantly? Should we reconsider the purpose and structure of academic research?
What AI can do
Traditional research has been deep and laborious. Reading should be detailed and lasting. However, in AI, most mechanical work is automated. For example, scholars studying 21st century responses to Hamlet can instruct AI programs to provide an overview, psychological insights, and an overview of expanding critique in minutes. My PhD research into Black Mountain poets required me to travel around the United States, consulting with archives and original manuscripts, and interacting with scholars. As a Fulbright scholar, I had the privilege of visiting Black Mountain College and engaged in source material that was rarely explored. AI can now scan and analyze such archives in seconds.
Consider students studying historical figures. Previously, it was necessary to gather biographies, assess social outcomes, and understand personal challenges. AI tools such as Google Lens and Natural Language Processors can now compile and format such data instantly. Provide a clear prompt and the required materials arrive and frequently references and structures are already in place. At a recent symposium on AI in education, Professor NIT said that AI saved at least 15 years of academic work. This statement encapsulates the massive transition we are witnessing.
Literary research promotes intertextual analysis, supports the identification of intertextual relationships, and promptly provides historical context. Summary, translation and bibliography are widely available, allowing scholars to concentrate more on interpretation and integration. Previously, doctoral degrees lasted three to five years and could focus on specific topics, but today’s scholars can explore many topics and collaborate across the field. The time saved from data collection can now be used for high-level thinking and creative analysis.
Things that AI can’t do
However, AI has limitations. It cannot replace the nuances of human intelligence, empathy, or interpretation. Literary research is more than just a summary of content. It is also about dealing with ambiguity, understanding historical and cultural contexts, and providing unique interpretations. These are essentially human tasks.
Overdependence on AI can lead to conceptual shortcuts. Students may avoid difficult efforts to intensive reading and critical engagement, and may bring shallow understanding. AI can misinterpret sophisticated analogues or overlook subtle themes, resulting in generalized responses that overlook the nature of the problem. Authentic research thrives with depth, paradoxes and persistent intellectual engagement. If the process is in a hurry, we risk losing the richness of this academic pursuit.
Instead of resisting these developments, research must be rethinked. Its central focus has always produced new knowledge, developed new interpretations, and contributed meaningfully to academic discussions. The process of gathering information is just the beginning. Researchers’ functions have been moved from data collectors to semantic manufacturers. In this new world, critical thinking, imagination, and willingness to ask must prioritize. Academic training requires students to prepare them to use AI tools wisely without controlling the outcome.
Institutions also need to reevaluate traditional research models. It’s the value of a doctoral degree. Is it determined only by the duration or by the width and uniqueness of its contribution? Can AI drive shorter, more targeted businesses and equally impact them? AI has transformed research by being faster, easier and more collaborative, but the fundamental elements of scholarships remain the same. Critical thinking, intellectual rigor and creative insight remain central and distinctive human. As a research supervisor, I feel that the key question is not whether research should last for years, but how to use the available time wisely. AI frees us from everyday tasks and encourages us to go further and think more deeply. Therefore, the practical purpose of modern research is not to achieve more, but to make it better.
The authors are English professors and deans, Sardaya University of Advanced Studies University (autonomy), Kodakara, Torissa, Kerala.
Published – July 5, 2025 03:00 PM IST
