It was just about yesterday that we were concerned about all computers, watches, and machines stopping as soon as we entered the year 2000. Now, we are just a quarter of a century older and freaked out about AI taking over the world. Who would’ve thought?
Brief Company Update
It was an active year for our team.
- We delivered 27 projects from a wide variety. From rapid and scoping reviews to Systematic Reviews for Health Technology Assessments and Clinical Practice Guidelines.
- Our collaboration with the WHO was expanded.
- We delivered two systematic review workshops.
- All our traditional clients have continued working with us; some for more than 12 years.
- Thanks to the Library and Information Science (LIS) Community, we have two new clients. We should repay the favour to the community with interest.
Bursaries
For the first time, we are funding LIS students and professionals to participate in the Search Solutions conference. Currently, we fund the conference registration fee for two LIS students and two professionals; however, we are considering extending this offer to other conferences and covering the travel and/or accommodation costs. We owe a lot to the LIS community, as they are at the forefront of the defence against misinformation and disinformation about AI-based technologies.
Pro bono Project
This year, for the first time, we have decided to have a pro bono project. A single project with real-world impact and no funding will benefit from our full services.
Free Access to Automation Tools
By paying the subscription fee, we continue to support projects that need access to fee-based automation tools, even if they are not our projects.
GAJET List
We will keep this list alive to serve open science. This list now appears on the websites of Harvard, Yale, and McGill University Libraries, among others. Thanks to all LIS professionals for their support.
Free Webinars, Recordings, and Oral History Series
We continue to post webinars and their recordings about using AI in evidence synthesis on our YouTube channel. We have not received sufficient support, which has delayed the expansion of the oral history series. When we started, we expected organizations such as Cochrane, JBI, and Campbell to at least link to this Oral History series. We want to continue these series, which are very time-consuming and require funding; however, we hope to receive support from the evidence synthesis community to promote them.
Newsletter to Keep You Up with AI Use in Evidence Synthesis
This newsletter (BIMS-ARINES) now has 116 subscribers. I can’t see subscribers’ names or email addresses, and I can’t use this information for marketing or spamming — how unfortunate. All I can do is ensure subscribers start their Sunday or Monday mornings with the most important publications on the use of AI in evidence synthesis in their inboxes. I have done it for 66 weeks and hope to continue.
The Surprise I promised last year.
Living Evidence Map for Automation of Systematic Reviews (LEMASyR) is there for you, free, ad-free, and login-free. Enjoy. Should we have another surprise for the next year?
The Year Ahead
You and I are the last hope.
Ultimately, humanity and ethics are our only remaining hopes in a world run by bullies for national interests. All ideologies, ancient and modern, landed on one golden rule of ethics, which is the most precious human wisdom lived across thousands of years:
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Those who have the power and can and should act in accordance with this golden rule have no interest in humanity or ethics. 2025 showed us how we are the only hope left in the world. The choice is yours. Be neutral or make a difference.
We were privileged to find new friends and colleagues every year, and we thank them for trusting us beyond the formalities of the projects. People are irreplaceable treasure. But we also lost a friend, Professor Lelia Duley, who dedicated her life to producing game-changing primary and secondary evidence in Pregnancy and Childbirth. While we were scheduling to interview her for the Oral History series, we were unable to find a mutually convenient time and missed the opportunity. We hope someone writes a worthy obituary in an academic journal, but till then, I wrote a brief one.
AI is coming for us, and there is no escape.
In 2025, humanity was affected not only by politics but also by technology. AI started expanding with almost no regulation in place. As I always say:
Humanities (Ethics and Law) are two decades behind technology.
It has already taken many jobs, with AI companies not compensating for the resulting job losses. No training, we are on our own. It is just like when the Internet or Google came along, and everyone said, “Who needs a library?” Now, again, once more, the librarians and information professionals have started doing what they were doing for thousands of years, evaluating the tools, resources, and claims, writing reviews of tools, educating the users, and providing guidance to the lost but excited user community on how to use AI responsiblity; just like what Jean Armour Polly, another librarian, did 25 years ago.
2026 and Wealth
I read somewhere about five types of wealth: Financial, Social, Physical, Mental, and Time. I wish you could invest in all types of wealth, and the new year brings you whatever you wish for.
One Book
If there is one book I’d recommend you read, it would be
This Is for Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web, by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web
It is a timely read, given the rise of AI, misinformation, and social media’s role in manipulating public opinion.
One Advice
Be kind regardless of the outcome!
Throw the fish back to the sea; even if the fish doesn’t acknowledge, the creator of that fish will notice. Azerbaijani-Persian-Turkish Proverb
Happy 2026
Systematic Review Consultants LTD 