UCL Press AI policy for book authors

Guidelines for Authors about use of Gen AI and LLMs in their submissions

These guidelines aim to provide greater transparency for authors about the use of Gen AI during the writing and submission process. We understand that the use of Gen AI tools in research and writing is an evolving practice. Given the changing landscape, we’ll continue to review and update these guidelines as appropriate.

Guidelines for Authors about use of Gen AI and LLMs in their submissions
What do we mean by Gen AI?
General principles of Gen AI use
Monographs
Textbooks
Journals
Resources

What do we mean by Gen AI?

UCL explains that Gen AI is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that automatically generates content in response to written prompts. The generated content includes texts, software code, images, videos, and music.  Gen AI is trained using data from webpages, social media conversations and other online content. It generates its outputs by statistically analysing the distribution of words, pixels or other elements in the ingested data and then identifying and repeating common patterns (for example, which words typically follow which words).  

We acknowledge that Gen AI can be used responsibly in some of the following ways:

Idea generation / brainstorming
Language improvement
Check for more up-to-date references
Assistance on structure

There may be other responsible uses; for example, creating list of titles for a literature reviews or providing summaries of concepts that help to inform original writing. However, at this stage, we’d like to see these uses disclosed for books, to provide the Press with a better understanding of how academics are utilising these tools.

Gen AI shouldn’t replace key authoring tasks (including producing original research and insights, drawing conclusions and offering recommendations on a particular topic) and applying AI technology should be done with transparency and human oversight. All the work should be reviewed and edited carefully, because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Below are our principles for authors’ use of Gen AI.

General principles of Gen AI use

Research Integrity: This relates to the writing and editing process for publication, as we expect the research itself to comply with ethical and integrity standards of the author’s institution. UCL provides guidance on engaging with Generative AI in your education and assessment, which provides guidance on how to use Gen AI ethically and with transparency. Compliance with these standards ensures that the research included in our publications meets the highest possible standards.
Authorship: Adherence to UCL’s Principles of Authorship and Journals authorship policy. These policies outline how to acknowledge human authors and contributors in published work. We don’t allow AI or LLM tools to be listed as an author on any research-based work published by UCL Press.
Accountability: Authors are responsible and accountable for the originality, validity and integrity of the content of their submissions. In choosing to use Generative AI tools, authors are expected to do so responsibly and in accordance with our journal editorial policies and book publishing guidelines, particularly in relation to publishing ethics and plagiarism.
Disclosure: Transparency is key. Outside of the responsible uses we list above, we ask authors to let us know how and where they’ve used Gen AI in their work. If they’ve used it in their research, we expect authors to comply and disclose it in their acknowledgements and methodology section. If they have used it during the writing or manuscript preparation process, they will need to list all uses in the Gen AI disclosure form, when submitting their work to UCL Press. We will then advise on the best way to acknowledge this use in the book.

More specific author guidelines are outlined below, divided into monographs and textbooks.

Monographs

Authors

If authors plan to use Gen AI for translation purposes of non-English language material that they want to include in their book, we insist on seeing the original version to judge if it’s suitable to use AI. Although these technologies may seem to offer an authoritative translation service, often there are inaccuracies that can only be identified by careful human oversight and editing.
Gen AI Disclosure Form will be used to clarify and guide disclosure of the author’s use of AI technologies in their work. We reserve the right to investigate anything we suspect has been used but not declared. Download the form (.docx).
The monograph programme currently doesn’t permit the use of Gen AI in the creation and manipulation of images and figures, or original research data for use in our publications. The term ‘images and figures’ includes pictures, charts, data tables, medical imagery, snippets of images, computer code, and formulas. The term ‘manipulation’ includes augmenting, concealing, moving, removing, or introducing a specific feature within an image or figure.

Peer Reviewers

While we acknowledge AI tools may assist with identifying additional sources or verifying facts, we task reviewers to do their own original assessment and compose their own reports. Any use of AI tools in the review process must be disclosed to UCL Press and, if approved, must be acknowledged at the end of the reader report.

Editors and Peer Reviewers

Editors and peer reviewers shouldn’t upload proposal or manuscripts into Gen AI tools, as our review process is single-blind and the materials we send for review may contain personal information, such as email addresses and bios.
Gen AI may be utilised to assist with improving review language, but peer reviewers will always remain responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of their reviews.

Textbooks

For authors working on non-research outputs, such as teaching and learning materials or textbooks, there are some opportunities to utilise Gen AI. These include development of pedagogic structure or student features in the text, such as chapter summaries, supplemental resources or self-assessment tools, which all enhance learner journey. The use of Gen AI is already being harnessed by some textbook distribution platforms and other open textbook publishers. We advise authors to generate the main content themselves, using their experience and tried-and-tested educational resources, and limiting the use of Gen AI for enhancements.   

Authors will be required to disclose intended use of Gen AI in the textbook proposal and complete the disclosure form on submission. The Textbook Publisher will advise on where appropriate acknowledgement is placed in the book. For example, if it’s used for discussion questions then a note will be added that these were created by Gen AI.  

Journals

Our Journals programme provides more specific steps and guidance for authors using Gen AI in their articles. For more information about this, please visit our journals site.