At Beachcombing, we strive to tell the real stories of beachcombers, their adventures, their amazing finds, and the beaches they visit. As such, our policy is to exclude images, figures, artwork, and writing created with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including but not limited to large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, NovelAI, Jasper AI, DALL-E, Midjourney, Runway, and others).
All photos and articles submitted should be the author's own work. Writers are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their articles; something can't be ensured by AI tools. Photography is an essential part of every story in Beachcombing, and as such the photos should be real, not generated with AI tools.
We want to share articles and stories that are accurate and give credit where credit is due. Images and text generated with AI tools are not always accurate or unbiased. AI tools do not give credit or attribution to the sources used to generate the work. And, sometimes AI tools use copyrighted work to generate output, and the author using the tools does not own the copyright to the generated copy and images.
All contributors to Beachcombing must take responsibility for their content and sign a submission agreement stating that the work is their own. All submissions must credit and acknowledge all contributors included in their work, for example the photographer for each image and citation for all quoted works. If AI tools are used, they must be listed, including the name of the tool, the version number, and how the tool was used. Contributors should adhere to the AI software’s usage policies and show that rights have been cleared for the use of the material. If published in Beachcombing, we will mark that the images are AI-generated and do not represent reality.
We prefer articles written by actual beachcombers and photos taken by real people. If an article requires an image to illustrate an imaginary situation, we hope that the author hires an illustrator to create the image. It's a great way to support small business and get an image that no one else will have. And a story in a beachcomber's own words brings readers right onto the beach with them.
We can't screen every story and image to determine whether or not it was written by robots, so we ask our contributors and readers to inform us if anything we print is AI-generated so we can properly identify it as such. As generative AI tools continue to evolve, we will continue to update our editorial guidelines and technology requirements.
We look forward to seeing and learning about your genuine beachcombing adventures!
View some examples of AI-generated beach images ›
Learn about submitting your stories and images ›
