AI use can blur human responsibility in decisions and creations
When No One Owns the Judgment: Accountability Under Contribution Dissolution in Human-AI Collaboration
Artificial IntelligenceHuman-Computer Interaction
Summary
Sometimes AI tools help people make decisions, review work, or create things. This can lead to a problem where it’s unclear who is responsible for the final judgment when AI plays a big role. The authors show two examples: peer review aided by AI and creative work where AI use is hidden. They suggest clearer ways to identify when humans must take responsibility and how to share AI involvement openly without penalties.
What this means in practice
- •For journal editors: Design policies that clarify responsibility for peer review judgments involving AI assistance to strengthen accountability.
- •For creative agencies: Develop workflows that encourage honest disclosure of AI use in creative projects without risking credit loss.
A position paper. It proposes an approach and reports no results.
Authors
Hengzhi Ye
Abstract
Communities often respond to potentially AI-assisted work by asking three questions: Was AI used? Was that use disclosed? Can hidden use be detected? These questions place AI use itself at the center of accountability while overlooking a deeper problem: unowned judgment. Evaluations, claims, decisions, and creative directions can be shaped by AI with no accountable human or institution prepared to stand behind them. We develop this argument through two illustrative cases: AI-assisted peer review and concealed AI use in creative work. The first shows how contribution dissolution can weaken responsibility while the second shows how the fear of losing credit can discourage honest disclosure. The cases expose the limits of disclosure rules and provenance records as responses to AI-mediated collaboration. We offer three directions for discussion: distinguishing the roles AI plays, identifying judgments that require clear human ownership, and creating conditions in which AI involvement can be disclosed without default penalty. The broader aim is to make AI-shaped contributions discussable, creditable, contestable, and repairable.