CASRAI working group Track A
Generative AI use and disclosure Working Group
Vocabulary for human–AI collaboration on research outputs and the disclosure required.
Charter and scope
What the Generative AI use and disclosure working group covers
The Generative AI use and disclosure working group develops vocabulary for human-AI collaboration on research outputs and the disclosure that publishers, funders and institutions now expect. It harmonises author-facing statements, editorial policies and machine-readable metadata so that AI involvement — from grammar polishing to model-assisted analysis — is documented consistently. The group works across CRediT, journal policy and funder guidance to provide a single, defensible disclosure stack that researchers can apply once and reuse everywhere.
- Disclosure thresholds: what level of AI involvement triggers a statement
- Author-versus-tool distinction and the non-authorship of LLMs
- Categorisation of AI use (writing assistance, analysis, code, image generation)
- Machine-readable expression of disclosure (JATS, JSON-LD, Crossref)
- Alignment with COPE, ICMJE, WAME and major publisher policies
- Funder application disclosure language (NIH, NSF, UKRI, ERC)
- Detection limits and the futility of post-hoc forensic claims
This is one of 33 CASRAI working groups. Its remit is the Generative AI use and disclosure dictionary domain. Related groups: CRediT extensions and adjacent contribution vocabularies Working Group, Mentorship, training, and career stages Working Group and Research outputs (expanded) Working Group.
Composition
Chair and seats on the Generative AI use and disclosure working group
Chair
Applications under review
Candidates are being assessed for the 2026 forming round. Two-year term, renewable once.
Submit your candidacy →Co-chair
Accepting candidates
Optional second chair, prioritised for regional or sector balance.
Submit your candidacy →Community seats
Accepting candidates for 12 seats
Seats are allocated against a published rubric covering domain expertise, institutional diversity, regional balance, and an explicit slot for early-career researchers.
Apply for a community seat →Deliverables
Planned deliverables of the Generative AI use and disclosure working group
- AI Disclosure Statement v1 — a canonical, JATS-embeddable statement block
- Cross-walk between COPE, ICMJE, WAME and Crossref disclosure fields
- Author-facing guidance at /for-authors/ai-disclosure (living document)
- Reviewer guidance for handling undisclosed AI use in submissions
- Decision tree: "Is this disclosable?" for authors and editors
Recent activity
Generative AI use and disclosure working group: cadence and milestones
Illustrative working-group cadence for the 2026 forming round. Substantive deliverables and meeting minutes will be linked here as the group convenes.
2026-05-15 · Milestone
Working group forming — call for chair candidates
Open call for chair and co-chair of the Generative AI use and disclosure working group. Candidates are under review.
2026-04-22 · Release
Domain scope confirmed for v2026.2
Scope of the Generative AI use and disclosure domain confirmed against the v2026.2 dictionary release plan.
2026-03-10 · Added
Forming round announced
CASRAI announced the 2026 forming round for all 24 working groups, with seat allocations and review rubric published.
Open consultations
Currently in public comment
Currently none open. Subscribe via /get-involved/comment for future calls.
External bodies
Standards and organisations we work with
Going deeper on CASRAI
Related CASRAI guidance
Adjacent working groups
Working groups related to Generative AI use and disclosure
CRediT extensions and adjacent contribution vocabularies Working Group
Track AMentorship, training, and career stages Working Group
Track AResearch outputs (expanded) Working Group
Track AScholarly publishing Working Group
Track BThe persistent identifier ecosystem Working Group
Track BResearch-information systems and integration Working Group
How to join
Apply to a seat on the Generative AI use and disclosure working group
This working group is receiving candidates for the 2026 forming round. The application is short — name, institution, ORCID iD (optional), the seat you are applying for, and a paragraph on why this domain. Decisions are returned within four weeks of the close of the open-call window.
FAQ
Frequently asked
- How to write an AI disclosure statement?
Name the tool and version, state the task it performed (writing assistance, analysis, code or image generation), and confirm that a human author reviewed the output and takes responsibility for it. The group is working on one reusable wording, planned as a JATS-embeddable block, so authors need not rewrite it for every journal or funder.
- Is AI allowed in a research paper?
Most publishers and funders allow AI use in research papers if it is disclosed, though the threshold for a required statement varies by policy. Defining which level of AI involvement triggers disclosure is a core question for this group, which reads the published guidance of COPE, ICMJE, WAME and funders such as NIH, NSF, UKRI and ERC.
- Can an AI tool be listed as an author or a CRediT contributor?
No. Large language models cannot hold accountability or give consent, so the group treats AI tools as outside the CRediT contributor roles and disclosed separately. CRediT itself is stewarded by NISO as ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022; the group only reads that standard to keep disclosure wording consistent with it.
- What does this working group do?
The Generative AI use and disclosure working group is the community body that drafts, reviews and ratifies dictionary entries for the Generative AI use and disclosure domain. It maintains scope, cross-walks to adjacent standards and the cadence of public review. The first scope area is: Disclosure thresholds: what level of AI involvement triggers a statement.
- Who can apply to join?
Working-group membership is open to qualified practitioners — researchers, research-office staff, librarians, publishers, repository managers, integrity officers, CRIS administrators, regulators and funders. Institutional membership is not required. The qualification test is competence and time, not affiliation. Apply via the working-group application form.
- What is the time commitment?
Cadence: Monthly virtual sessions reflecting the pace of model releases; two release windows per year.. Time commitment averages four hours per quarter for an active member, more for a chair. Asynchronous review happens between meetings via email. Chairs are recognised on the editorial masthead and serve a two-year term, renewable once.
- How are seats allocated?
Each working group has 12 community seats plus a chair and (optionally) a co-chair. Seats are filled by an open call reviewed against a published rubric: domain expertise, institutional diversity, regional balance, and an explicit slot for early-career researchers. Applications for the 2026 forming round are open and candidates are currently under review — see how to apply.
- Can my institution sponsor a seat?
Institutional sponsorship is welcome but is not a route to a guaranteed seat. Sponsors support meeting infrastructure, public-comment publication and contributor honoraria; they receive named acknowledgement on the working-group page and in release notes. Sponsorship enquiries go to [email protected]. Seat selection remains on merit.
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