The July 11th editorial in the journal, Nature Methods offers an overview of a suite of articles focused on the future of image analysis. The editorial and the technology feature are both available to read for free, while the other articles are paywalled. Here’s an index of the articles for anyone who might be interested:
- What’s next for bioimage analysis?, Nature Methods, 2023 [Editorial]
- Loïc A. Royer, The future of bioimage analysis: a dialog between mind and machine. Nature Methods 20, 951–952 (2023).
- Jun Ma & Bo Wan, Towards foundation models of biological image segmentation. Nature Methods 20, 953–955 (2023).
- “Deep Cell team”, Scaling biological discovery at the interface of deep learning and cellular imaging. Nature Methods 20, 956–957 (2023).
- Challenges and opportunities in bioimage analysis.
- Carpenter, A.E., Cimini, B.A. & Eliceiri, K.W. Smart microscopes of the future. Nature Methods 20, 962–964 (2023).
- Malacrida, L. Phasor plots and the future of spectral and lifetime imaging. Nature Methods 20, 965–967 (2023).
- Chen, J., Viana, M.P. & Rafelski, S.M. When seeing is not believing: application-appropriate validation matters for quantitative bioimage analysis. Nature Methods 20, 968–970 (2023).
- Lambert, T., Waters, J. Towards effective adoption of novel image analysis methods. Nature Methods 20, 971–972 (2023).
- Nogare, D.D., Hartley, M., Deschamps, J. et al. Using AI in bioimage analysis to elevate the rate of scientific discovery as a community. Nature Methods 20, 973–975 (2023).
- Cimini, B.A., Eliceiri, K.W. The Twenty Questions of bioimage object analysis. Nature Methods 20, 976–978 (2023).
- Rahmoon, M.A., Simegn, G.L., William, W. et al. Unveiling the vision: exploring the potential of image analysis in Africa. Nat Methods 20, 979–981 (2023).
- Marx, V. To share is to be a scientist. Nature Methods 20, 984–989 (2023). [Technology Feature]
Definitely there is some hard truth, however in the problems as you note are that it is often a black box and not reproducible nor necessarily quantitative among many other problems. I see more of an increasing divide between those who create those AI tools and those who apply them. There’s always been some of this with ImageJ, and macros or plugins have served as a bridge. I foresee similar bridges in the future.
Everything in the future is looking a bit shakey lately with how society and technology continues to co-evolve, so I wish you luck with the career side; I think we all need a bit of luck there.