The Year in Review series by the Asian Council of Science Editors (ACSE) was organized to highlight the key developments that have defined the scholarly publishing industry in 2024. Among the most transformative trends is the integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as AI-driven publishing platforms and blockchain for authorship verification. These advancements are poised to revolutionize how knowledge is created, shared, and preserved, while also raising critical challenges around accessibility, integrity, and inclusivity.
To explore these topics, ACSE invited Dr. Mingfang Lu, Vice President of ACSE & Executive President of AiScholar; a renowned academic publishing expert with decades of global experience, to share his insights. Dr. Lu has held prominent roles in institutions such as Tsinghua University, MOST, CAST, and NSFC, and has collaborated with global entities like the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics. As Editor-in-Chief at IOP Publishing for 16 years, Dr. Lu significantly expanded the scope and impact of published content. His leadership extended to spearheading marketing strategies, fostering international partnerships, and enhancing journal visibility during his tenure as Chief Representative/Editor-in-Chief in China. With his extensive expertise, Dr. Lu offers a unique perspective on the technological innovations shaping the future of scholarly publishing.
In this interview, Dr. Lu reflects on the implications of these technologies, the challenges they pose, and the strategies required to balance innovation with ethical and inclusive practices in scholarly communication, addressing the following questions:
Q1: How do you perceive the role of AI-driven publishing platforms in reshaping the responsibilities of human editors and reviewers? What are the primary risks and opportunities associated with integrating AI into these processes?
Response by Dr. Lu: The answer to this question lies in two key aspects - how to secure the copyright or confidentiality and originality of a submitted paper while making an efficient and correct editorial decision when incorporating AI/GenAI functions into the editorial and publication processes. This encompasses the primary potential risks and opportunities associated with integrating AI into these processes.
With the rapid development of AI nowadays, especially generative AI, the concept of AI-driven publishing platforms is beginning to emerge in the publishing industry. One outstanding question would be how it will reshape the responsibilities of human editors and reviewers. However, just as COPE and other related parties define the roles of authorship, i.e., 'COPE ... state that AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper', because 'AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work' (COPE, 2024). The same principle applies to the cases of selecting editors and reviewers, i.e., the responsibilities of editors and reviewers should only be taken by humans, rather than AI tools. All major publishers prohibit their editors and reviewers from using unauthorized AI tools to check and review the submitted papers or uploading them and the review records to the AI tool platforms (Elsevier, 2024; Springer Nature, 2024). The reason for this is that current AI tools, including the pre-trained generative ones, lack transparency and legal clearance in their training process. The uploaded information could be stored and re-used as new training materials by the AI tools, with classified research content and information likely being broken to unknown channels and parties. This could compromise the most important part of a research paper - its originality and creation, or copyright.
In addition, AI tools work based on pre-trained LLM based on existing knowledge, which means they cannot make a correct judgment on cutting-edge results as supposed to appear in a newly submitted work. Furthermore, AI tools can provide an answer that seems right but is actually wrong.
Most reputable journals and publishers, all have well-established publication and reviewer databases integrated into their editorial systems. For new launches or those in multidisciplinary subject areas, journal editors can always ask authors to recommend potential reviewers for reference. AI-driven publishing platforms, especially those based on localized databases with secured information security, will help to streamline the editorial and publication processes. However, all the editorial and peer review processes must finally be checked verified and decided upon by a responsible human.
Q2: Blockchain technology is being explored for authorship verification and enhancing transparency. From your perspective, how effective can blockchain be in addressing challenges like plagiarism and authorship disputes? Do you foresee its widespread adoption in the scholarly publishing industry?
Response by Dr. Lu: Branding is crucial in the research and publication ecosystem. The primary goals of this ecosystem are to create and disseminate new knowledge, maintain publication records, and democratize the knowledge. A researcher's career and reputation depend on their published work and citations received, and journals and publishers that publish the best research establish themselves as reputable. Similarly, reputable abstract indexing platforms such as WoS/JCR, PubMed, and Scopus have high selection criteria for included journals. The current research and dissemination ecosystems, along with open access, preprint and archiving efforts, and experiments with various forms of peer-review processes, are effectively working towards achieving these goals.
Blockchain technology is renowned for its highly secure decentralization functions in banking, trading, and other business purposes. In my opinion, its primary application may remain in these areas.
Looking ahead, published papers with evolving and clustering functions may become increasingly prevalent in the scholarly publishing industry. This could facilitate the organization and clustering of authors' research work, particularly for those focusing on similar topics or review articles.
Q3: With the rapid adoption of advanced technologies like AI and blockchain, how can we ensure that researchers from low-resource settings are not left behind? What strategies could be implemented to promote inclusivity and equitable access to these tools?
Response by Dr. Lu: In comparison to the need for research facilities and infrastructure, a researcher's direct requirement for advanced technologies like AI and blockchain to support their research and publication is generally lower. These technologies are typically accessible via the internet, even for researchers from low- resource settings. The adoption of new technologies by journals and publishers, such as various forms of publication support setups on their websites, can actually assist researchers with limited resources. Additionally, all major journals and publishers offer special rates or benefits to the researchers and institutions in low-resource settings. Journals and publishers from low-resource settings can also seek assistance and collaborations from their major global counterparts to support their research dissemination efforts. And AI and blockchain providers can take similar steps in supporting researchers from low-resource settings from being left behind. All such measures from the related stakeholders will promote inclusivity and equitable access to these AI tools for research and its publication.
Q4: As technological advancements continue to evolve, what steps should publishers and institutions take to maintain the integrity of scholarly content while embracing innovation? Could you provide examples of successful policies or practices in this area?
Response by Dr. Lu: Transparency is always a priority in ensuring research and publication integrity. Advancements in new technology can help identify potential misconduct in a submitted paper, enabling publishers and institutions to prevent any misconduct from the outset of conducting research and preparing the paper. For example, publishers may provide a research paper pre-checking function on their websites linking only to their own published and submitted contents internally and those published literature (but not to unspecified external sources), requiring authors to conduct a self-check of their paper for essential research integrity items and obtain a signed confirmation from their hosting institutions before they submitting that paper to that journal/publisher.
Q5: Looking ahead, what are the most significant technological trends you anticipate shaping scholarly publishing in the next five years? Are there any innovations on the horizon that you find particularly promising or concerning?
Response by Dr. Lu: The concept of evolving papers, as previously mentioned, may see increased adoption for review articles or published papers focusing on specific topics. Furthermore, the development of customized GenAI tools hosted locally and utilizing publishers' own databases with secure information safety measures and legal clearance would further promote the direct utilization of such tools in scholarly publishing.
Q6: Drawing from your extensive experience in academic publishing, what advice would you give to publishers and researchers navigating the rapid technological changes in the industry today?
Response by Dr. Lu: Publishers are at the forefront of disseminating new knowledge and its sharing, and they have an obligation to safeguard publication integrity. They should always prioritize publication integrity over financial interests. While as we see from the retraction and black-listing records, a bulk amount of publication misconduct today involves publishers, though with the majority from predatory ones, some were from quite 'reputable' players. This situation must change.
Dr. Mingfang Lu's insights provide a thought-provoking reflection on the technological milestones achieved in 2024 and their implications for the future of scholarly publishing. As the industry embraces innovation, it is clear that a careful balance must be struck between leveraging new tools and maintaining the ethical and inclusive principles that underpin academic research.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Lu for sharing his expertise and guiding us through this pivotal moment in the evolution of scholarly communication. We invite our readers and ACSE Members to engage with these ideas and contribute their perspectives as we collectively shape the future of publishing.
Keywords
Open science initiatives
digital transformation in publishing
ethical challenges in technology adoption
scholarly communication trends
responsible AI usage
innovation in peer review
global publishing standards
technological equity in research
Maryam Sayab
Maryam Sayab is the Director of Communications at the Asian Council of Science Editors (ACSE) and Co-Chair of Peer Review Week. With a background rooted in research integrity and publication ethics, she actively works to advance regional conversations around responsible peer review, transparent editorial practices, and inclusive open science. Maryam is dedicated to building bridges between global publishing standards and the practical realities faced by researchers and editors, especially across Asia and the Arab world. She also supports initiatives that strengthen community-driven collaboration, ethical scholarship, and the sustainable development of research ecosystems.
Dr. Lu's response provides valuable insights into the current landscape of scholarly publishing and the evolving role of technology. While the focus on branding and the existing ecosystem is crucial, I believe blockchain technology presents a compelling opportunity to enhance the integrity and transparency of research within the pharmaceutical sciences.
Abdelazim
15 January, 2025
This is a fascinating article from Dr. Lu.
I shared this with my colleagues for its usefulness.
Prof. Dr. Maan Abdul Azeez Shafeeq
15 January, 2025
Publishers must adhere to the publishing literature and the publishing principles, knowing that it is possible to use artificial intelligence, but in a limited manner and in proportions approved globally or proportions approved by the scientific institutions to which the researcher is affiliated. Accordingly, the basics of scientific publishing are specified for the publisher reviewing the research, and these commitments are obligatory for both the publisher and the reviewer. However, this does not prevent keeping up with modern science and using artificial intelligence within certain limits, as well as to clarify some aspects that are unknown to the researcher.
Saad A. El-Sayed
16 January, 2025
This valuable information and important regardigng usin AI in material publishing. We thanks Dr. Lu for his lecture. I can add my oppinon regarding human against AI(machine) as:
The creation of material by AI might indicate that human editors will play a smaller role. No, it is far from going extinct; human editors are more important than ever since they protect the originality, caliber, and morality of the material we read. Demonstrating the continued value of human editors and the ways in which AI tools, like undetectable, may support their work, promoting a seamless fusion of human knowledge and technology. AI has become a vital tool for authors dealing with strict deadlines or high workloads due to its capacity to produce text at scale and remarkably fast. Even though AI producing content has a lot of potential, there are a number of drawbacks, such as an absence of creativity, the possibility that the content they produce will be very similar to previously published works, concerns about plagiarism and the production of truly original content, the moral consequences of AI content generation after generation, etc. It becomes clear that although AI has enormous potential, it also poses a complex range of difficulties, including the need for human editors, editorial judgement, human innovation, ethical standards, editors' crucial role in improving and enhancing AI-generated content, the openness of ethical production of content, the risk of misunderstandings, and many more.
Dr. Afroz Alam
17 January, 2025
Thank you for sharing the link of the insightful and informative talk in an interview mode. I truly appreciate the knowledge and expertise of Dr. Mingfang Lu who shared on 'Innovations Transforming Scholarly Publishing'. His presentation was both engaging and educational, and I feel that I have gained a deeper understanding of scholarly publishing in the changing era. .
I look forward to future opportunities to learn from these experts and hope to apply some of the valuable insights they shared.
Thank you once again for such an enriching experience.
Regards
Afroz
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Yogesh Chaudhari
15 January, 2025Dr. Lu's response provides valuable insights into the current landscape of scholarly publishing and the evolving role of technology. While the focus on branding and the existing ecosystem is crucial, I believe blockchain technology presents a compelling opportunity to enhance the integrity and transparency of research within the pharmaceutical sciences.