Webinar: Scholarly Publishing and Academic Writing in the Age of AI: Opportunities, Challenges, and Ethics

 The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in new opportunities and challenges for scholarly publishing and academic writing. While AI tools can enhance efficiency, streamline literature reviews, and support editorial workflows, they also raise critical questions about originality, integrity, authorship, and ethics.

The Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ) has been at the forefront of navigating this new terrain. Over the past 2 years, PAMJ has observed a surge in AI-assisted manuscripts, coupled with uneven transparency in tool use, growing concerns about plagiarism, and a worrying decline in the quality of writing. PAMJ has responded by developing internal guidelines that emphasize responsible, ethical, and transparent use of AI; tools that must strengthen human authorship, not replace it.

This webinar will bring together experts to share the PAMJ experience, explore global and African perspectives, and spark critical dialogue on how to use AI responsibly in scholarly publishing.

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2025

Time: 6 pm East African Time

REGISTER NOW: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jtvMR9vDRNSsUaqkk_TuHQ

Objectives

• Highlight opportunities, challenges, and ethical concerns AI brings to academic writing and publishing.
• Share PAMJ’s experience and evolving position on AI use.
• Discuss trends in manuscript quality and integrity in the AI era.
• Provide actionable strategies for African scholars and publishers to responsibly engage with AI.

Proposed Speaker Themes

1. AI and the Future of Academic Writing: Opportunities, Challenges, and Ethics
   – How AI is reshaping scholarly publishing and what it means for writers, editors, and institutions.

Dr Njei Basile, MD, PhD

1. The PAMJ Experience: Trends, Lessons, and Institutional Position
   – Editorial insights into AI-assisted submissions, quality concerns, and the journal’s evolving guidelines.

Dr Raoul Kamadjeu, MD, MPH

1. Scholarly Integrity and Ethics in the AI Era
   – Addressing plagiarism, accountability, authorship, and transparency as ethical imperatives.

Dr Luchuo Engelbert Bain, MD, PhD

Expected Outcomes

• Greater awareness of AI’s impact on scholarly publishing and academic writing.
• Clearer understanding of PAMJ’s position and lessons in managing AI in submissions.
• Actionable strategies for researchers and publishers to ensure integrity and quality.
• Strengthened dialogue on embedding ethics and African leadership in the future of scholarly communication.