After Experiment, Journal Decides to Prohibit AI-Authored Content

Philosophy & Public Affairs, a philosophy journal, has decided to prohibit AI-authored content after publishing an AI-written article as an experiment earlier this month. The policy, announced by associate editor Seth Lazar of Johns Hopkins, defines AI-authored content as papers substantially written by AI, while allowing light copy-editing and encouraging AI use in research. The journal cites the need to credential talented researchers and concerns about peer review quality.

Earlier this month, the journal Philosophy & Public Affairs published an article largely written by an AI. The article was described as an experiment by the philosopher who submitted it, Simon Goldstein Hong Kong , and its publication was similarly described by the journal’s editor in chief, Jason Brennan Georgetown . Now that the experiment has been discussed a fair amount here and elsewhere online, the journal has decided from now on to prohibit AI-authored content. Seth Lazar Johns Hopkins , an associate editor of Philosophy & Public Affairs, shared the journal’s new policy on X.com: Academic journals serve at least two functions: the promulgation of new knowledge, and identification and credentialing of talented researchers. There are many other means available to share new knowledge, but few for credentialing talented researchers, where “talented” means roughly: able, on their own or together with other researchers, to make and communicate significant progress on fundamental problems. Submitting AI-authored essays makes the task of identifying talented researchers harder. In addition, while it is at this time possible for a researcher to use AI to author a paper that is itself high quality, it is disproportionately unlikely that they will do so, and much more likely that the paper will have all the surface appearances of sophisticated work, but ultimately be insubstantial or incoherent. This makes it harder to peer review, and makes the task of peer review in general more onerous, at a time when it is already under significant strain. Those who enjoy and value the products of AI writing have many other places where they can publish such work, notably online. There may also be a case for creating journals of AI-authored research. So there are very few benefits to publishing AI-authored work in existing academic journals, and, given the above, significant costs. Our policy is therefore to prohibit the submission of AI-authored content to Philosophy & Public Affairs. We define AI-authored content as papers that are substantially written by AI. We distinguish this from the use of AI for light copy-editing which we in general define as reorganising or condensing written work without rephrasing . We also emphasise that authors are entitled indeed encouraged to use AI while conducting their research, in whatever ways they choose. To implement this policy, we require authors to declare that they.. The post After Experiment, Journal Decides to Prohibit AI-Authored Content https://dailynous.com/2026/08/24/after-experiment-journal-decides-to-prohibit-ai-authored-content/ first appeared on Daily Nous https://dailynous.com .