The Precariousness of Academic Publishing in a Digital World

The world around us is growing increasingly digital and data-intensive, affecting our lives and practices as citizens and researchers in a multitude of ways. We have to ask how we ensure that academic research remains trustworthy and transparent as digitalization disrupts our practices. This article draws attention to the multifaceted nature of the challenges early-career researchers face with academic publishing in the digital era. Thus, rather than zooming in on one aspect, and losing track of the complexity of the problem, it addresses (1) the purpose of academic publishing, (2) the type of material to be published, (3) the role and use of AI and data in research, (4) the entanglement of academic publishing and research assessment, (5) the role of Open Science, and (6) what makes early-career researchers as a group different from other researchers.