Policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence

Sundog Publishing recognizes artificial intelligence as a valuable tool for authors and editors. Appropriate uses may include developing preliminary drafts, exploring alternative ways of presenting material, editing and revising human-authored text, reviewing content for clarity, accuracy, consistency, tone, and pedagogical effectiveness, and assisting in the preparation of figures and other graphical material.

Our policy is based on a simple principle: AI may assist in authorship, but it cannot assume the responsibilities of an author.

Accordingly, every work published by Sundog Publishing must meet the following standards:

1. Human accountability. The named author or authors bear full responsibility for every word and figure in the published work, regardless of whether AI contributed to its drafting, editing, review, or preparation. AI-generated output must never be treated as authoritative merely because it appears plausible or convincing.
2. Human subject-matter expertise. Material must receive final substantive review by a human with appropriate expertise in the subject. Normally this will be the author. When the author lacks sufficient expertise in a particular area, an appropriately qualified human expert must review that material and be acknowledged by name in the published work.
3. Authentic authorial voice. Authors must revise and polish AI-assisted text so that the finished work consistently reflects their own voice, vocabulary, judgment, and standards of expression. A published work should read as the work of its human author, not as a collection of machine-generated passages.
4. Figures and images. AI may be used without special acknowledgment as a tool in the conventional preparation of graphical material—for example, to generate or refine computer code used to produce plots, diagrams, or data visualizations whose content is determined by the author and the underlying data. Images or illustrations whose visual content is generated directly by generative AI must be identified as AI-generated. The author remains responsible for their accuracy and appropriateness, including any artifacts, misleading details, or factual misrepresentations introduced by the generative process.

Sundog Publishing therefore does not judge a manuscript by whether AI was used in producing it, but by whether the resulting work meets the standards expected of responsible human authorship. AI can contribute substantially to the writing, editorial, and production process; expertise, judgment, accountability, and final creative control must remain human.