Generative AI Policy

PNSQC Policy on the Use of Generative AI in Papers, Presentations, and Workshop Materials

Last Updated May 2026

Introduction

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and AI-assisted technologies are increasingly used in professional and technical writing. These tools can help authors improve readability, organize ideas, summarize information, and accelerate portions of the writing process. At the same time, the use of AI raises important questions related to originality, intellectual property, accuracy, authorship, and the authenticity of professional experience.

PNSQC is a practitioner-focused conference built around the sharing of real-world software quality experiences, lessons learned, experimentation, failures, tradeoffs, and original insights. The purpose of this policy is not to prohibit the use of AI-assisted tools, but to preserve the integrity, credibility, and practitioner value of the conference while encouraging transparency and responsible use of emerging technologies.

This policy applies to papers, presentations, workshops, abstracts, and related materials submitted to PNSQC.

A. General Considerations for Authors and Authorship

1. Responsibility for Submitted Work

Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and defensibility of all submitted work, regardless of whether AI-assisted tools were used during the preparation process.

Defensibility is the standard. It means you can stand at the podium, take questions from a technical audience, and speak to every claim, conclusion, and recommendation in your submission. AI tools may assist preparation. They cannot stand in for the author.

Authors are expected to verify technical accuracy, validate claims, review generated content with a critical eye, and ensure that submissions reflect their own understanding, experiences, analysis, and professional judgment.

2. Originality and Practitioner Contribution

PNSQC values submissions grounded in meaningful practitioner contributions. This includes:

  • Real-world implementation experience
  • Case studies and applied lessons
  • Experiments and observations
  • Failures and unexpected outcomes
  • Tradeoffs and decision-making processes
  • Original analysis and synthesis
  • Practical insights relevant to software quality

Submissions consisting primarily of generic AI-generated summaries, lightly modified public information, or synthetic content lacking meaningful original contribution are inconsistent with the goals and spirit of PNSQC.

3. Intellectual Property and Plagiarism

Authors should understand that generative AI tools may produce content derived from publicly available or copyrighted material. The use of AI-assisted technologies does not remove an author’s responsibility to avoid plagiarism, provide appropriate attribution, and respect intellectual property rights.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted work does not improperly reproduce or infringe on third-party content.

4. Human Oversight

AI-generated content should be reviewed carefully by the author. Generative AI systems may produce inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, biased, or fabricated information while presenting it in a confident and authoritative manner.

Authors are expected to exercise human oversight, technical judgment, and editorial review throughout the preparation process.

B. Policy for Authors

1. Acceptable Uses of AI-Assisted Technologies

PNSQC permits the responsible use of AI and AI-assisted technologies to support the preparation of papers, presentations, and workshop materials. Examples may include:

  • Improving grammar and readability
  • Assisting with language translation
  • Organizing or restructuring content
  • Brainstorming ideas or outlines
  • Summarizing notes or research materials
  • Assisting with formatting or editing

AI-assisted tools should support the authoring process, not replace the author’s original experiences, expertise, analysis, conclusions, or professional insights.

2. Unacceptable Uses

The following uses are discouraged or may be grounds for rejection:

  • Submitting AI-generated content with minimal human contribution or review
  • Presenting AI-generated expertise that the author cannot explain or defend
  • Submitting generic or synthetic content lacking meaningful practitioner insight
  • Using AI-generated content that contains fabricated references, results, citations, or experiences
  • Misrepresenting AI-generated material as original lived experience or research

3. Presentation and Discussion Expectations

Authors presenting at PNSQC should be prepared to discuss, explain, and defend the ideas, methods, conclusions, and experiences described in their submissions during peer review, presentations, workshops, and audience discussion.

PNSQC values authentic professional dialogue and practitioner engagement as core elements of the conference experience.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors are encouraged to be intellectually honest and disclose significant use of AI and AI-assisted technologies when such tools materially contributed to drafting, summarization, restructuring, or content generation.

Disclosure supports transparency and trust between authors, reviewers, readers, attendees, and the broader PNSQC community.

Where appropriate, authors may include a “Disclosure & Acknowledgment” section prior to the References section describing the use of AI-assisted tools during the preparation process.

5. AI Technologies Cannot Be Listed as Authors

AI and AI-assisted technologies may not be listed as authors or co-authors of submissions.

Authorship carries responsibilities that can only be fulfilled by humans, including accountability for accuracy, originality, integrity, ethical conduct, and approval of submitted work.

C. Use of AI in Figures, Images, and Artwork

1. AI-Generated Images and Visual Materials

PNSQC discourages the use of AI-generated or AI-altered images, figures, or visual materials when such content could misrepresent data, experimental results, observations, or technical findings.

Minor adjustments to brightness, contrast, cropping, or formatting are acceptable provided they do not alter or obscure the meaning of the original material.

2. Exceptions

If AI-assisted image generation or analysis is itself part of the subject matter, research method, or technical discussion, authors should clearly describe in the references or acknowledgments section of their paper:

  • How AI tools were used
  • Which tools or models were used
  • The purpose of their use
  • Any limitations or known constraints

3. Legal and Ethical Compliance

All submitted materials must comply with applicable laws and ethical standards, regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies were used. All materials – including figures, images, and visual materials – must not violate U.S. copyright laws. Compliance with applicable laws is the responsibility of authors, presenters, or workshop instructors and is not the responsibility of the Board of PNSQC or its volunteers.

D. Ongoing Review of This Policy

Generative AI technologies continue to evolve rapidly. PNSQC will continue monitoring developments in this area and may revise this policy over time as technologies, professional expectations, and community standards evolve.

E. Acknowledgements

This policy was informed in part by guidance from academic institutions, publishers, and professional organizations related to generative AI and authorship. In developing this policy, we have used AI and AI-assisted technologies to draft and structure it.

PNSQC has adapted these concepts to align with its mission as a practitioner-focused software quality conference centered on authentic professional contribution, community learning, and diffusion of knowledge. The Board of PNSQC is committed to intellectual honesty, intellectual property rights, and the acceptable use of AI and all technologies in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the USA and the state of Oregon.

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