Safeguarding research integrity and informed citizenship in the age of generative AI

The intersection of artificial intelligence, knowledge production, and democracy has emerged as an urgent research frontier in recent years. With the advent of generative AI technologies, the traditional processes by which societies generate, validate, and disseminate knowledge are being fundamentally reconfigured. Generative AI is transforming the entire knowledge cycle—from research and education to political discourse and public policy. Recent studies have identified AI-mediated disruptions in scholarly authorship, research integrity, and information ecosystems, as well as heightened challenges in regulating synthetic content and safeguarding reliable data flows. Despite significant progress in AI governance, existing scholarship reveals substantial gaps in understanding the ethical, legal, and sociopolitical implications of these changes, and there is growing debate about how current regulatory frameworks and institutional safeguards can keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies—particularly as AI converges with neurotechnology and exerts unprecedented influence over cognition and decision-making.This Research Topic aims to illuminate the ways generative AI is transforming the knowledge bases of democratic societies and to investigate the risks and opportunities this transformation entails. Central objectives include examining how AI-generated content affects trust, polarization, and public deliberation; assessing impacts on research integrity, academic authorship, and open science; exploring the legal and ethical challenges raised by predictive and persuasive AI techniques—including impacts on cognitive liberty and informed consent; and evaluating the adequacy of emerging regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act, data governance instruments, and electoral integrity laws. The Research Topic also seeks to foster comparative analysis of governance strategies in diverse regions and policy environments, promoting dialogue on institutional models that protect informed citizenship and responsible information ecosystems.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses interdisciplinary, theoretical, and empirical inquiries into the multifaceted impacts of generative AI on knowledge, democracy, and the rule of law. While the primary focus is on the societal, legal, and political consequences of AI-generated knowledge, comparative regional perspectives and analyses of policy and governance models are welcome. To gather further insights across the AI–knowledge–democracy nexus, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Integrity and reliability in AI-mediated research, including academic authorship, reproducibility, and knowledge validation- Transformations in education, media literacy, information consumption, and dynamics of trust- The impact of generative AI on political discourse, polarization, automated messaging, and electoral manipulation- Ethical and legal implications of persuasive, predictive, and neurotechnology-enabled AI; cognitive freedom and informed consent- Technical and regulatory risks, including cybersecurity vulnerabilities and failures in AI system updates- Effectiveness of hard law (e.g., the EU AI Act), soft law, data governance, electoral and consumer protection, and educational standards- Regional and comparative perspectives on regulatory gaps and institutional governance of AI-generated knowledge- Institutional and public policy models for safeguarding informed citizenship and regulating information markets- The role of AI in evidence-based legislation, judicial processes, and democratic accountability- The changing nature of the informed democratic subject under conditions of synthetic informationWe invite original research articles, critical reviews, empirical studies, legal and regulatory analyses, theoretical frameworks, and interdisciplinary policy proposals. Both conceptual innovations and applied studies examining specific regulatory responses, case studies, or technological practices are highly encouraged. Topic editors: Roberto Cippitani, María Isabel Cornejo-Plaza Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80270/safeguarding-research-integrity-and-informed-citizenship-in-the-age-of-generative-ai