AI at transcript
Mission Statement: Using AI to Shape the Future of Open Science
Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing about a fundamental change in the sphere of semantics, completely reshaping how academic research and educational ressources are created, presented, and received. For academic publishers, this marks a turning point.
At transcript, we want to play an active role in shaping this transformation, which we approach with a keen awareness of its ambivalence but also with curiosity and, above all, with a constructive attitude. Our goal is to find answers to the fundamental ethical and normative questions as well as the economic and practical ramifications that this transformation engenders. As a ‚data-savvy‘ publisher, we have always stood for publishing high-quality content in innovative formats and for experimentation with new media and technological possibilities. We can build on this foundation. Together with our strong partner network and in exchange with expert communities across all departments, we are on our way into the era of artificial intelligence.
Our stance on AI ties in directly with our clear commitment to Open Science: We are committed to the principles of Open Science with the aim of making excellent academic content available for long-term use and facilitating a broad exchange of ideas. In doing so, we are guided by the FAIR principles of scientific publishing and pursue the vision of an open, sharing research and publication model for the future. This goes hand in hand with a high degree of sensitivity and knowledge about all data processing and data use processes, especially those based on AI.
We continue to place the highest value on human creativity and judgment. We believe that naive tech-euphoria is just as counterproductive as categorical technophobic resistance. Instead, we are committed to shaping change responsibly: We see AI as both a challenge and an opportunity and consider it our primary duty, especially to our authors, to disseminate the content entrusted to us as widely as possible – while protecting their interests, complying with the agreements made, observing the applicable legal situation, and adhering to high ethical standards.
As a ‚data-savvy‘ publisher, we are expanding our advisory role into the field of AI as follows: We take AI into account in the transparent design of our author contracts, incorporating our authors‘ wishes and ideas as best we can, and are happy to advise them comprehensively. We include the pertinent legal agreements into our metadata so that they are firmly linked to the content in question.
Our responsibility also includes the transparent and fair handling of the commercial exploitation of our content with the help of AI. We meet the current AI-hype in the publishing industry with caution, applying careful partner selection, fair and detailed agreements, and mutual trust. Last but not least, our responsibility towards our authors is not limited to the ethically sound use of AI, but also includes technologically outstanding and economically sustainable solutions; goals that we continuously review and balance.
AI not only offers the opportunity to streamline or improve individual steps in the publication process. Above all, it opens up new avenues for us to develop new applications, implement them creatively, and ultimately reshape our role as publishers in the wake of AI. With this in mind, we not only use AI as a tool but develop our own solutions for even more convenient, individualized access to our content—continuing on our journey toward the future of scientific publishing.
We are committed to the prudent use of AI in the service of science and humanity. We are helping to shape scientific publishing even in times of epochal change: innovatively, transparently, and responsibly.
Pilot Project
The team behind the research project “Experimental Concert Research,” led by Prof. Dr. Martin Tröndle, has investigated, among other things, the experience of musicians in concert. In the accompanying book publication “Das Konzert III” (2025), the concert audience itself has its say; in addition, as a publishing partner, we have fed 79 anonymized guided interviews with concertgoers into a large language model (LLM).
The chatbot in our pilot project is only available in German language. You can find the link to the chatbot on the website for “KI-Chatbot zum Buch »Das Konzert III. Stimmen aus dem Publikum”" (2025), edited by Martin Tröndle.