What role could AI tools play in scientific publishing?: Editorial

Gemma Conroy contemplates the future of AI tools like ChatGPT in the scientific publishing industry. Conroy writes that while these tools could take on much of the work of summarizing experimental results, supporting non-native English speakers in paper development, and editing drafts of content, the “spectre of inaccuracies and falsehoods,” as well as ethical concerns threatens this potential. A recent study conducted by found that many researchers see beneficial impacts for research when it comes to editing and translation for researchers without English as a first language, coding, and summarizing existing research. Conroy concludes by noting the ways in which AI tools could fundamentally transform research publication and dissemination processes in the future, such as by facilitating the creation of dynamic “paper on demand” publications that drill into the most relevant aspects of a study for a reader.