New Directions Keynote Presentation: Emerging Traits in Scholarly Publishing

Like us, the systems we create evolve over time with selective pressure. Scholarly publishing—notoriously rigid and slow to evolve—now faces its own pressures for change. As researchers and institutions slowly begin to embrace innovation, we are witnessing the emergence of new traits: faster science but also greater transparency; more autonomy, but also more accountability. Preprints are at the core of this revolution. They have empowered scientists to control how, when, and to what extent they share their work and engage with feedback. Now that researchers can share work on their own terms, new possibilities lay before us. This new world of research communication is powered by intuitive tools, enabled by strong metadata, and enhanced by AI. It allows scientists to showcase not just static representations of their findings but the full richness of their work. No longer constrained by artificial limits, researchers can now present dynamic outputs that evolve alongside scientific discovery. But if this is the future we desire, it is up to institutions, funders to support those who make this new paradigm possible and reward those who embrace it. The evolution of scholarly publishing is inevitable, and the time has come. Now all we need is pressure.