AI Policy for Book Authors

ACA Publications Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy for
Book Authors

ACA Publications recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including large language models (LLMs) and generative AI systems, are increasingly integrated into research, writing, and publishing workflows. We also recognize that the ethical, legal, and scholarly implications of these technologies continue to evolve.

ACA's approach to AI use is grounded in transparency, human authorship, scholarly and professional integrity, respect for intellectual property, and author accountability.

Human Authorship

Only human authors may be listed as authors of ACA publications. AI tools may not be credited as authors, listed in bylines, hold copyright, or enter publishing agreements.

AI may be used as a tool to support an author's work but may not substitute for human authorship. ACA will not publish works that are substantially generated by AI systems.

Use of AI Tools

ACA recognizes three categories of AI use in the development of book proposals and manuscripts: routine assistive use, generative or transformative use, and prohibited use.

Routine Assistive Use

AI-enabled tools may be used without disclosure when they perform routine mechanical or assistive functions that do not generate substantive content or materially alter the author's ideas, argument, analysis, organization, interpretation, or voice. Such uses may include transcription of author-created speech, basic spelling and grammar correction, formatting, and accessibility functions.

Authors remain responsible for reviewing the results of any AI-enabled tool for accuracy.

Generative or Transformative Use

Use of AI to generate, rewrite, summarize, synthesize, reorganize, analyze, or otherwise materially transform content requires disclosure to ACA. This includes generative or transformative AI use in research assistance, literature discovery, data analysis, code generation, substantive language editing, brainstorming, or development of manuscript content.

Generative or transformative AI use must remain supportive of, rather than substitute for, the author's intellectual and creative contribution. Disclosure of AI use does not constitute approval of that use. ACA reserves the right to determine whether AI-assisted material is appropriate for publication and may require revision or removal of such material.

Prohibited Uses

ACA does not accept proposals, chapters, sections, or other substantive manuscript content substantially generated by AI and presented as the author's own work.

AI may not be used to fabricate clinical material presented as actual client or clinical experience, research data, findings, evidence, sources, or other factual information. AI-generated translations are not accepted for publication.

Authors may not rely upon AI-generated references, citations, or bibliographic information without independently verifying the information against the original source. Authors are solely responsible for the existence, accuracy, relevance, and appropriate attribution of every source cited in their work.

Authors must not upload or otherwise provide copyrighted, proprietary, confidential, personally identifiable, protected, unpublished, or client information to an AI system unless they have the legal right or appropriate authorization to do so. Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted summaries, paraphrases, or other outputs do not reproduce protected expression or otherwise infringe third-party rights.

AI-generated visual materials, including photographs, illustrations, figures, graphs, charts, diagrams, maps, and other visual content, are prohibited in ACA publications.

Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose all generative or transformative AI use at the time a proposal is submitted to ACA and again at submission of the completed manuscript. Authors must also inform their ACA editor of any material change in AI use during manuscript development.

Disclosure should identify the AI tool used and briefly describe the nature and scope of its use. Authors are not ordinarily required to provide prompts or detailed descriptions of their workflow unless requested by ACA.

When appropriate, ACA may require an acknowledgment of AI use within the published work.

Failure to disclose AI use or to accurately describe the nature and scope of that use may constitute a breach of contract.

AI-Generated Visual Materials

Because the copyrightability, ownership, provenance, and licensing status of AI-generated visual materials remain legally uncertain and continue to evolve, ACA does not accept visual materials that are wholly or substantially generated by AI.

All visual materials submitted for publication must comply with ACA's Visual Materials Guidelines and must either be original human-created works for which the author has the necessary rights or be appropriately licensed for publication.

Author Responsibility

Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted to ACA, regardless of whether AI tools were used in its development. This responsibility includes:

• The accuracy and integrity of the content;
• The originality of the work;
• The accuracy and appropriate use of references and citations;
• Proper attribution and compliance with copyright and other intellectual property laws;
• Compliance with applicable confidentiality and privacy requirements;
• Ensuring that use of an AI tool does not violate applicable third-party rights or terms; and
• The accuracy and completeness of all disclosures regarding AI use.

Use of an AI tool does not transfer or diminish the author's responsibility for the work.

ACA reserves the right to request additional information regarding the nature and extent of AI use and to reject or require revision of materials that do not comply with this policy.

Policy Review

Artificial intelligence technologies and the legal, ethical, and scholarly standards governing their use continue to evolve. ACA Publications will review and revise this policy as appropriate.

See ACA's AI Use Guidelines