AI Editorial Policy
We used AI to help us write this AI Editorial Policy. That being said, if this was submitted to The Other as editorial, it wouldn’t satisfy our policy.
We use Pangram.com to help us identify AI use in editorial. Check out the report on this page.
Why This Policy Exists
Our readers trust that The Other Magazine reflects real voices, real perspectives, and the cultural expressions that shape our communities. Technology can support creativity, but it cannot replace lived experience, curiosity, reporting, or soul. We care about the creative industry. We believe in writers. We believe in the careers writing and creative support. We don’t want to see them disappear.
If AI assists your creative process, it must support your voice, not become it. Even the best written, most creative and fact filled content developed by AI has an issue outside of ethics alone. Your original human expression must survive from the prompt through to the AI output.
According to the United States Copyright Office, in order for something to be copyrightable (and for someone to transfer the copyright to another) there MUST be a human author. If a human author cannot be established, it is simply not copyrightable. You don’t own it, and nor can we.
This policy sets expectations for contributors who use AI tools in reporting, drafting, or brainstorming.
Acceptable Uses of AI
- Research prompts and idea exploration.
- Brainstorming headlines, angles, or interview questions.
- Helping organize your notes or outline structure.
- Grammar, clarity, or language polishing after you write.
- Condensing long quotes or transcripts you created.
- Fact scaffolding that you will later verify.
These uses keep human authorship in your hands while preserving your creative voice.
Unacceptable Uses of AI
The following uses are not allowed:
- Submitting AI generated text as your article.
- Using AI to rewrite a prompt into a completed story.
- Copying AI phrasing, structure, or narrative tone without transforming it into your own words.
- Letting AI fabricate facts, quotes, locations, or cultural implications.
- Submitting work created primarily by AI and edited lightly by a human.
If you’re only editing and the AI is doing the writing… that is not your work.
Required Contributor Responsibilities
Every contributor is responsible for:
- Ensuring original creative expression in submitted work.
- Retaining clear authorship of the writing voice and structure.
- Verifying all facts gathered with the help of AI.
- Disclosing meaningful AI involvement when asked.
- Preserving the integrity of reported quotes, details, and experiences.
Your author byline is a marker of your authenticity.
What Counts as Meaningful Human Contribution
To be considered original work for The Other, your writing must show:
- Personal experience, perspective, or cultural insight.
- Your own sentence structure and storytelling cadence.
- Unique scene building, voice, tone, and narrative flow.
- Reporting, conversations, or on the ground context.
- Critical thinking and editorial intention.
AI can help you think. It shouldn’t (and can’t actually) think for you.
How We Check for Authentic Expression
We reserve the right to:
- Use AI detectors as signals, not verdicts.
- Request earlier drafts or notes if concerns arise.
- Ask for rewrites if the piece lacks clear personal authorship.
- Reject work that does not meet publication standards.
- Add language like "This Article Was Substantially Assisted by Artificial Intelligence" to the article.
Our goal is to protect your work, not police it.
If You Use AI, Best Practices
If AI assists any part of your process:
- Treat it as a brainstorming buddy, not a ghostwriter.
- Rewrite everything in your own tone and rhythm.
- Replace AI phrasing with your voice.
- Add texture, scenes, and detail only a human knows.
- Rework structure so it reflects your thought flow.
If the article still feels like it was written by a model, it is probably not ready.
Final Word
We value originality, real culture, and lived insight. We are not anti AI. We are pro human. Our magazine exists to feature your human voice, not a machine’s.
Honor your craft. Protect your stories. Bring your perspective. That is what makes you a contributor to The Other.
If you find an article on our site that should be marked with a notice of substantial AI contributions… and it is not marked yet, please let us know here. Thank you.
