The perils of artificial intelligence in academic publishing

This essay aims to reflect on the potentially perilous implications of artificial intelligence in academic publishing. Our main point is that the colonization of academia by artificial intelligence technologies may erode, deskill and degrade core academic activities, where the role of key actors historically involved in the evaluation of research could become less and less tangible and significant. We are concerned particularly with the gradual removal of human involvement in journal editor and reviewer roles, as artificial intelligence and automated expert systems become increasingly influential across a range of tasks and judgments historically carried out and performed by people. Although these thoughts are exploratory, we believe it is imperative that researchers from all paradigmatic allegiances and geographies engage in initiatives that document, reflect, and debate the implications of artificial intelligence on the ways we evaluate research. The future of academic publishing as a meaningful human activity is at stake.