Scientific Productions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Iran: With Emphasis on Subject Fields

Purpose: The article examines the scientific production of artificial intelligence (AI) in Iran and identifies the top scientific productions of AI in the field of macro-research topics at the national level.
Methodology: The research method was descriptive-applied with a Scientometrics approach. The paper reviewed 804 Persian works on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) between 2002 and 2024. To index thematic articles with a quantitative approach, Scientometrics techniques were used to define thematic terms through semi-automatic indexing. A total of 357 keywords, repeated 2807 times, represented the research topic.
Findings: Scientific productions have been done in six subject areas: Humanities (285 articles), Engineering (182 articles), Agriculture (125 articles), Medical (102 articles), Environment and Natural Resources (62 articles), Science (48 articles). The most frequent topics in Humanities include stock market, economic development and planning, money and financial institutions, financial management, accounting, auditing and law, economics, information management, and human resources management. In Engineering, topics such as structure, hydraulic structures, transportation, water resources, information technology, marine structures, data processing, earthquake, control, and identification technology were prevalent. In Agriculture, topics covered include agriculture management, water resources, irrigation, soil science, drainage, waste management, environment, soil protection, and mechanization and mechanics of agricultural machines. Medical topics encompass general medicine, diseases, medical science, health, biotechnology, psychiatry, clinical psychology, pathology, physiology, and neuroscience. Environment and natural resources topics include watershed management, natural resources management, watersheds, environment, ecology, soil protection, forest and forestry, environment management, desert, and environment pollution. Science topics cover geology generalities, geochemistry, stratigraphy, sedimentology, applied mathematics, social aspects of sciences, geophysics, science and technology, and applied geology, which were identified as the most important topics emphasized by AI scientific productions in Iran. Humanities and Engineering were among the first fields to have scientific works in the field of AI in ISC since 2002. Since 2008, Science and Agriculture in ISC have published works in the field of AI, environment, and natural resources, succeeding in producing valid scientific works in the field of AI since 2009. Compared to other major research fields, the medical field entered the AI field with a delay, and its first productions are from 2011. In all major research areas of Iran, the trend of scientific production of AI has been growing. Humanities, as the oldest field, and Medical, as the youngest field, have shown a better growth chart than others. Water Resources Engineering Journal and Amirkabir Journal of Civil Engineering, with the most published articles in the field of AI (12 articles), were recognized as the best in this field in Iran. Signal and Data Processing and Water and Soil Science ranked second by publishing 11 articles, and the Journal of Water and Soil Conservation ranked third by publishing 10 articles in the field of AI. The University of Tehran was recognized as the most prominent university in Iran with the most AI scientific productions in Humanities, Environment, Natural Resources, and Science, while the University of Tabriz won the first rank in AI scientific productions in Engineering and Agriculture. Isfahan University of Medical Sciences achieved the highest position of AI scientific products in Medical. Roya Darabi, a prominent figure in the field of Humanities, published 8 articles; Vahid Nourani, with the publication of 8 articles, is a prominent figure in the field of Engineering; Kiyoumars Roushangar, with the publication of 4 articles, is a prominent figure in the field of Agriculture; Javad Haddadnia, with the publication of 3 articles, is a prominent figure in the medical field; Jamshid Piri, with the publication of 3 articles, is a prominent figure in the field of environment and natural resources; Ata Allah Nadiri was recognized as a prominent figure in the field of basic science in AI scientific productions by publishing 5 articles.
Conclusion: The findings of the current research offer insights from Iran's research perspective in the field of artificial intelligence, providing valuable information for the scientific community, technology, and innovation policy makers. The analysis, derived from observing Iran's artificial intelligence scientific productions at ISC, is of interest not only to artificial intelligence experts but also to other researchers and the general public. By identifying notable cases in the field of artificial intelligence in Iran, a strategy can be developed to facilitate further cooperation and interaction, aiming to achieve optimal results.