NDNB Activates AI Disclosure Note for Biographical Entries

The Nigerian Dictionary of National Biography (NDNB) has activated its AI Disclosure Note, requiring contributors to declare substantial use of artificial intelligence in preparing biographical entries submitted to the national biographical project.

The requirement takes effect from 23 September 2026 and forms part of NDNB’s Artificial Intelligence Policy for Contributors and Editors, developed to establish clear standards for the responsible use of generative AI in biographical research, writing and editing.

Under the policy, contributors may use AI as an assistive tool, but artificial intelligence must not replace independent research, source consultation, verification or human editorial judgement. Substantial AI assistance includes using AI to help produce an initial draft from verified source material, substantially draft or revise passages, extensively reorganise or rewrite a biography, or assist in interpreting, synthesising or substantially transforming source material.

From today, contributors who have used AI substantially in preparing an entry are required to disclose that use during submission. Where substantial AI use is disclosed, NDNB will publish an AI Disclosure Note immediately after the biography and before the references.

The disclosure reads:

AI DISCLOSURE NOTE: Artificial intelligence was substantially used in the preparation of this biography. As part of NDNB’s editorial process, the cited sources were consulted, all material claims were verified against reliable sources, and NDNB editors reviewed and approved the final entry.

Routine use of spelling, grammar, formatting, transcription and similar assistive tools does not amount to substantial AI assistance and does not require an individual disclosure note.

In a statement marking the activation of the requirement, the General Editor of NDNB, Bem Max Nomor, said the measure was intended to promote transparency without treating artificial intelligence either as a substitute for scholarship or as something that must be excluded from modern research.

“The question for NDNB is not simply whether artificial intelligence has been used, but how it has been used. AI can assist research and writing, but it cannot assume responsibility for evidence, accuracy or editorial judgement. Those responsibilities remain human.

“We therefore believe that readers should be told when AI has played a substantial role in the preparation of a biography. Disclosure is not an admission that an entry is unreliable. It is a statement of transparency about how the work was produced and an assurance that the sources and material claims have passed through NDNB’s editorial process.”

Nomor said the disclosure requirement places responsibility on contributors to be transparent about substantial AI assistance and makes clear that undisclosed substantial use may result in rejection of a submission.

“Our position is straightforward: substantial AI use must be disclosed. Contributors who use AI within the policy have nothing to conceal. What NDNB will not accept is undisclosed substantial AI involvement presented as though the work was produced entirely without it.”

In assessing submissions, NDNB editors may use AI-detection tools as preliminary editorial aids, but detection scores will not be treated as conclusive evidence that a biography was written with AI or that the policy has been breached. A high detection score may prompt further editorial examination, but no submission will be rejected, and no contributor penalised, solely on that basis. Editors will instead examine the underlying research and writing process, including the sources consulted, the accuracy and verifiability of claims, the contributor’s substantive involvement, the extent of human review and editorial judgement, and the approval process required before publication.

The policy therefore places emphasis on disclosure, verification and human responsibility rather than the mere use of AI. Confirmed AI assistance does not by itself constitute a breach. A breach occurs when AI is used contrary to the requirements or prohibitions of the policy.

The activation of the disclosure mechanism forms part of NDNB’s broader effort to maintain transparent and verifiable editorial standards as emerging technologies increasingly become part of research and writing. Before an entry is completed, NDNB’s editorial process requires checks covering identity and duplication, evidence of significance, factual support, chronology and date precision, current information, balanced treatment of controversies, references, media identification and AI disclosure.

The Nigerian Dictionary of National Biography (NDNB.ng) is an initiative of the Institute for Historical Studies, Biographical Research, Documentation and Legacy (IHS-BiRD & L). It is being developed as a continuously updated digital reference documenting individuals whose lives, work and activities form part of Nigeria’s historical and contemporary record.