Publishing Ethics Science Policy News

Cochrane retracts invited AI-methods paper over COI disclosure breach

Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods invited Nested Knowledge to publish a paper detailing the AutoLit AI tool for evidence synthesis; the article appeared after an January invitation and was published in October, but a June 1 retraction cited a breach of Cochrane’s conflict-of-interest policy because authors disclosed equity in the platform and initially lacked a COI statement. Editorial oversight was acknowledged as a factor. The authors say the invitation and acceptance were in good faith and that they plan to submit the manuscript to a venue not bound by Cochrane’s COI policies. Retractions over COI disclosures are uncommon, but the case underscores how conflicts of interest can trigger withdrawals even for methodological/AI-focused papers.