AI in Practice: Insights from a Community Survey of Biohackathon Participants

Understanding the practical application of artificial intelligence (AI) in research is increasinglyimportant as it becomes embedded in life sciences and bioinformatics. This paper reports ona multilingual survey, developed through community discussions at the 2025 BioHackathonin Japan and distributed through its networks, to capture current practices, successes, andchallenges in AI adoption. The survey, offered in English, Japanese, and Thai, received 105responses spanning diverse demographics, regions, and professional backgrounds. Findingsreveal that most participants are frequent AI users, with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, andClaude widely adopted, with ChatGPT as number one response. AI is primarily used to assistor draft tasks in coding, research, and writing, while full task automation remains uncommon,reflecting a preference for AI as a collaborative aid rather than a replacement. Successeswere noted in efficiency, coding support, and proposal writing, whereas challenges centeredon accuracy and reliability. Institutional support emerged as a key factor: respondents inJapan, Thailand, and the private sector reported stronger support and higher satisfaction thanEnglish-speaking or academic counterparts. By documenting real-world practices and concerns,this survey provides a valuable community-driven resource to guide responsible AI developmentand foster international collaboration in bioinformatics.