Artificial Intelligence to Automate Network Meta-Analyses: Four Case Studies to Evaluate the Potential Application of Large Language Models

Background The emergence of artificial intelligence, capable of human-level performance on some tasks, presents an opportunity to revolutionise development of systematic reviews and network meta-analyses (NMAs). In this pilot study, we aim to assess use of a large-language model (LLM, Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 [GPT-4]) to automatically extract data from publications, write an R script to conduct an NMA and interpret the results. Methods We considered four case studies involving binary and time-to-event outcomes in two disease areas, for which an NMA had previously been conducted manually. For each case study, a Python script was developed that communicated with the LLM via application programming interface (API) calls. The LLM was prompted to extract relevant data from publications, to create an R script to be used to run the NMA and then to produce a small report describing the analysis. Results The LLM had a > 99% success rate of accurately extracting data across 20 runs for each case study and could generate R scripts that could be run end-to-end without human input. It also produced good quality reports describing the disease area, analysis conducted, results obtained and a correct interpretation of the results. Conclusions This study provides a promising indication of the feasibility of using current generation LLMs to automate data extraction, code generation and NMA result interpretation, which could result in significant time savings and reduce human error. This is provided that routine technical checks are performed, as recommend for human-conducted analyses. Whilst not currently 100% consistent, LLMs are likely to improve with time.