With the boom of Artificial Intelligence tools, it is important to consider how this impacts academic publishing. In particular, as authors it is crucial to consider how these tools can be used ethically in the production of research outputs of all type.
Some of the principles we apply to our students are going to translate in how our researchers use AI.
It is important to assess properly what tools can be used, how they should be used, the quality of the output they generate and the importance of assessing it carefully for bias, errors and hallucinations. It is also important to consider how to retain your voice and originality as an author.
The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) issued a position statement in 2023. It underlines the responsibility of authors in creating content for publications. AI tool cannot be named as authors. Authors have to disclose the use of AI tools and must be ready to take responsibility for all content included in their manuscript, included that generated by AI tools.
Publishers are also releasing guidance on how authors can use AI ethically if they choose do to so.
Wiley recently released (03/2025) a set of guidelines and an FAQ detailing how authors could use AI in preparation for their publications. This is a useful guide.
Publishers have all added some guidelines or policies relating to using AI in preparing a publication. Below is a selection
You could also consult this article on the Challenges and Upsides of using AI in scientific writing.