Inspectable AI for Science: A Research Object Approach to Generative AI Governance

arXiv:2604.11261v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: This paper introduces AI as a Research Object (AI-RO), a paradigm for governing the use of generative AI in scientific research. Instead of debating whether AI is an author or merely a tool, we propose treating AI interactions as structured, inspectable components of the research process. Under this view, the legitimacy of an AI-assisted scientific paper depends on how model use is integrated into the workflow, documented, and made accountable. Dra