Beyond the Paper: Who is the Researcher When Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Does the Writing?

Generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping academic research beyond the production of polished text. In social science, writing has traditionally been deeply intertwined with knowledge development: researchers write to think, interpret, and theorize. As GenAI increasingly enters these practices, it challenges not only how research is communicated, but how knowledge is produced. In this paper, we examine how GenAI changes the relationship between writing and research. We also consider implications for the journal paper and the publication process, and explore how these changes affect authorship and the role and identity of the researcher. Finally, we propose a model for responsible human–AI collaboration that preserves researchers' intellectual agency.