Silverchair’s AI Lab Launches Prototypes to Transform Science Communication

Charlottesville, VA | January 29, 2024

Silverchair announces the launch of the new AI Lab with several AI-powered features: a content discovery and recommendation tool that creates new ways for users to interact with content using RAG frameworks; SilverChat, which acts as a personal Silverchair Platform expert for clients; and AI-generated summaries that make research findings more accessible by generating plain-language explanations of scholarly journal articles.

Silverchair is pleased to launch the first prototypes from Silverchair’s AI Lab to its clients. These features are the first in a series of pilots to explore the most effective applications of AI for scholarly publishing platforms, and how the potential of AI can be harnessed to transform how users discover and interact with high-value content.

Stuart Leitch, Silverchair CTO said, “We’ll use the AI Lab to transparently test and pilot potential AI solutions with our clients. Silverchair has always been committed to community feedback and collaboration, and our AI strategies are no different: we will learn from what works, what doesn’t work, and what gaps in the research lifecycle we might make more efficient using AI.” 

The first prototypes launched from the AI Lab include:

AI-GENERATED SUMMARIES (BETA):

Making research findings more accessible, this tool generates automated plain-language abstracts of articles so they can be easily understood by non-expert readers. AI-Generated Summaries have great potential impact on science communication and literacy, expanding the reach of the valuable content hosted on the Silverchair Platform. The tool is built leveraging GPT’s powerful functionality via an API so that publishers can maintain their brand and content security while supporting the usability of science for the public. 

SILVERCHAT (BETA):

SilverChat acts as a client’s personal platform expert, helping publishers get the most out of the Silverchair Platform Tools. The internal teams at Silverchair have been using SilverChat for months, building its knowledge of Silverchair’s User Guides, content specifications, and other platform documentation. SilverChat will deliver easy-to-navigate and streamlined client support and represents Silverchair’s commitment to making the platform user friendly and self-serve for publisher partners.  

DYNAMIC DISCOVERY (IN DEVELOPMENT):

This feature offers new ways for users to interact with research content, using RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) frameworks. With generative chat functionality, this tool will pull specifically from a publisher’s content library to answer user questions and link to cited content as well as recommend additional content. This dynamic search and query process fundamentally shifts how users find answers to questions and represents the next generation of content discovery while preserving (and enhancing) the value of the version of record.  

Each of these tools is a valuable step toward ensuring AI is applied to scholarly publishing in a way that meets publisher and user needs.   

“AI will change how scholarly and scientific knowledge is created and delivered to the world,” said Silverchair CEO Will Schweitzer. “These technologies have incredible promise and many potential pitfalls, and as an independent technology partner with more than three decades in this industry, we’re committed to working with our clients to co-create an AI future for scholarly publishing.”  

Emilie Delquié, SVP of Product and Customer Success, added: “With so many ideas and a fast-moving technology, one of our top priorities will be bringing our clients along with us on the journey. We are having in-depth conversations about AI-readiness and priorities, and those conversations fuel our prototypes to ensure that what we’re building meets the needs of our industry.” 

There will be much more to come from Silverchair’s AI Lab throughout the year. Other alpha experiments have included translation and accessibility tools, quiz generation, and additional applications of RAG functionality.  

For updates from Silverchair’s AI Lab, sign up for our AI Newsletter.

About Silverchair  

Silverchair is the leading independent platform partner for scholarly and professional publishers, serving our growing community through flexible technology and unparalleled services. We build and host websites, online products, and digital libraries for our clients’ content, enabling researchers and professionals to maximize their contributions to our world. Our vision is to help publishers thrive, evolve, and fulfill their missions.
www.silverchair.com