AI introduces many exciting developments in the software industry. However, the uncontrolled use of generative AI has the potential to undermine our mission to provide a platform for authentic voices in the API community. For this reason, we are clarifying our AI usage policy.

This policy applies to anyone who contributes content to Nordic APIs, including staff, affiliates, sponsors, partners, contractors, freelance writers, event speakers, workshop speakers, and external contributors to the blog.

We hope that by aligning on these requirements, the community can engage with Nordic APIs to continue to share compelling content and stories in a safe and ethical manner that supports authentic trade discussion and removes blockages in the editorial flow.

Writers

This policy applies to all blog articles submitted to Nordic APIs. Any article that does not meet these requirements will be rejected.

Do not use AI to write your post. Your article must be written in your own words.

We do not allow writers to use generative AI tools or large language models (LLMs) to write their copy from scratch. This policy applies to all copy, including prose, titles, headers, decks, lists, tables, and product reviews.

We do not allow writers to blindly trust source material generated from AI-driven research. Statistics, facts, and figures, or external quotes, can easily be hallucinated and require human attribution and vetting.

Acceptable uses of AI within writing workflows include:

• Assisting your research with search and discovery
• Outlining an article
• Discovering gaps in your written analysis
• Transcribing interviews
• Refining, restructuring, or tightening human-written content
• Mechanical copyediting to conform to our house style guide
• Checking accuracy
• Assisting in translating human-written prose, such as for non-native English speakers

If AI tools are used for these acceptable use cases, the output must retain your authentic voice and meet our quality and style expectations. Articles may be reviewed using AI detection tools at editorial discretion.

If AI tools are used beyond minor refactoring, translation, transcription, or mechanical editing, contributors must disclose this to the editor during submission.

If an author submits another article that violates this policy after a prior rejection, the author(s) may be deny-listed from further submissions.

Addendum On Code Generation

Generating code for programming tutorials and walkthroughs is acceptable. However, the end result must be functional and error-free. If significant parts of a code snippet were generated by AI, please add a disclaimer under the code snippet and notify the editor.

Addendum On AI-Driven Research

AI tools may not be cited as sources. If AI tools are used for research, all sources must be clearly vetted, fact-checked, and supported by a primary source link prior to inclusion within an article. Do not use AI to synthesise content or summarize quotes attributed to real people or those writing on external presences.

Speakers

This policy applies to all speakers who give talks at Nordic APIs events, whether online or in person.

Do not use AI to generate the core content of your talk. This includes your speaker pitch, the words you say onstage, and the overall narrative arc.

We aim to feature speakers who provide original, authentic first-person narratives and compelling storytelling. Therefore, we do not want to share derivative content or fake stories with our event audiences.

The same writing standards above regarding written text, code samples, and research apply to speakers as well.

If any graphics, diagrams, or pictures are generated by AI and you have a good reason to include them in your slides, clearly mark them as AI-generated by labeling which generative AI tool was used to create them. Always thoroughly review AI-generated diagrams if they are populated with the correct data and show your message in the correct way. For example, if you generated a pie chart, make sure that the chart is divided into parts in the correct ratio. On a bar chart, make sure that the bar that shows the bigger number is actually bigger, etc. Double-check generated images for typos, as these won’t be caught by your usual autocorrect tools.

If our speaker review committee believes your talk does not meet our standards, it will be rejected.

If a speaker’s core content in their slides relies too heavily on AI-generation, it will be rejected, and the speaker will be removed from the event until replacement slides and a talk are provided.

Acceptable uses of AI for speakers include:

• Assembling slides
• Assisting your research
• Outlining your talk
• Discovering gaps in your narrative arc or delivery
• Transcribing and reviewing your talk for rehearsal purposes
• Refining, restructuring, or tightening your delivery

Why We’re Upholding These AI Policies

• To keep open submissions. We genuinely want Nordic APIs to be a platform for new voices in the community. Completely AI-generated content undermines this mission, so we need to make our policies clearer upfront.
• To retain content quality. We aim to publish insightful, first-hand accounts and knowledge shared by those with subject matter expertise. We believe our audience deserves original content that is not solely derived from former works. Content generated by AI is not as useful to our audience.
• To retain integrity and trust: Using AI often does not give credit to the actual experts, developers, analysts, or scholars whose content the AI model has been trained on. For a technical industry presence like ours, claiming ownership of ideas generated by AI degrades trust in subject matter experts.
• Avoiding a soulless tone: When using an AI, an author’s unique voice and perspective can degrade quickly. This creates an empty, unoriginal tone that is not interesting or enjoyable to read.
• To avoid source hallucinations: AI does not perform actual research. It discovers and suggests available sources. It is up to human contributors to do the fact-checking and legwork to validate facts, figures, and case studies.
• Intellectual property issues: AI may produce derivative content that resembles existing published material. We do not want to expose Nordic APIs to risks stemming from plagiarism and copyright infringement.
• To avoid editorial delays: When AI content issues arise, it places a huge burden on the editorial team to fact-check sources, run content through AI detection software, and communicate our boundaries and request revisions with contributors. This often incurs much more effort than if contributors simply wrote in their own words. Therefore, we hope this policy will streamline the editorial process.
• Retain vendor neutrality. AI usage has the possibility to amplify vendor marketing copy or repackage vendor blog posts. Human-written content can act as a check to help avoid this.

Contact Us For Questions or Comments

This policy will likely evolve as generative AI tools and industry norms evolve. We intend to follow the use of AI within creative disciplines in a safe way and update this policy as we see fit.

We’re also open to hearing thoughts from the community. For any questions or comments, please contact info@nordicapis.com.