Right of reply
Author contestability
A critique that the critiqued cannot answer is an accusation, not scholarship. Every Critical AI critique is author-contestable: the authors of the target paper have a right of reply, with no veto. A reply contests reasoning, never reputation — because the critiques themselves address claims, methods and evidence, not character or motive. This page is the standing policy and the live status of every critique’s reply.
Principles
- Authors of any critiqued paper have a right of reply.
- The reply has no veto: it cannot compel withdrawal, only an editorial review.
- Critiques address claims, methods and evidence — never the authors' character or motives — so a reply contests reasoning, not reputation.
- Every correction or update is logged in the critique's version history; nothing is silently edited.
- If a critique is shown to be wrong, it is retracted in full, with the record preserved.
The process
- 1
Notification
When a critique is published, its authors are notified with a link to the critique and this policy.
- 2
Reply window
Authors have 30 days to submit a reply: a factual correction, a methodological rebuttal, a clarification, a data/code update, or a severity challenge.
- 3
Editorial review
A named editor reviews the reply against the critique's claims and evidence, and decides an editorial action.
- 4
Publication
The reply is published alongside the critique, and any editorial action is recorded in the version history.
What a reply can lead to
A named editor reviews each reply against the critique’s claims and evidence and decides one of these actions, from lightest to heaviest touch on the published critique:
| No change | The reply is published alongside; the critique stands as written. |
| Clarification | A clarifying note is appended without altering the substance. |
| Correction | A factual error is corrected and logged in the version history. |
| Substantive update | A claim is softened, strengthened, or rescoped in light of the reply. |
| Expression of concern | An unresolved dispute is flagged on the critique. |
| Critique retracted | The critique was wrong and is withdrawn (with the record kept). |
How to submit a reply
Authors of a critiqued paper may reply by email to editors@policywindow.org, quoting the critique’s catalogue id and the specific claim contested. The reply is published alongside the critique. During the founding pilot, formal invitations are issued as the standing editorial board is ratified; until then, unsolicited replies are still welcomed and reviewed under this policy.
Reply status across the journal
Re-derived in-app from every published critique’s reply record:
- not yet invited: 13
- received: 1
One illustrative exchange is shown end-to-end on the fictional sample critique (a fictional target, used only to demonstrate the process). Real critiques carry whatever stage their reply has actually reached — nothing is asserted on an author’s behalf.