# Editorial Alignment: A Participatory Approach to Engaging Editorial Expertise in LLM-mediated Knowledge Dissemination

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.20258 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.20258/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 13 of its 52 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 Jun 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 13 of 13)

- [Deep reinforcement learning from human preferences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03741/) (2017)
- [Constitutional AI: Harmlessness from AI Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08073/) (2022)
- [Artificial Intelligence, Values and Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.09768/) (2020)
- [Power to the People? Opportunities and Challenges for Participatory AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.07572/) (2022)
- [Collective Constitutional AI: Aligning a Language Model with Public Input](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.07814/) (2024)
- [Survey of Cultural Awareness in Language Models: Text and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.00860/) (2024)
- [The Participatory Turn in AI Design: Theoretical Foundations and the Current State of Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00907/) (2023)
- [Safeguarding Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02622/) (2024)
- [Designing Participatory AI: Creative Professionals' Worries and Expectations about Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08931/) (2023)
- ["Ownership, Not Just Happy Talk": Co-Designing a Participatory Large Language Model for Journalism](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.17299/) (2025)
- [Learning by Design: Structuring and Documenting the Human Choices in Machine Learning Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.00687/) (2021)
- [Bringing AI Participation Down to Scale: A Comment on Open AIs Democratic Inputs to AI Project](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.11613/) (2024)
- [The Turn to Practice in Design Ethics: Characteristics and Future Research Directions for HCI Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.06055/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The emergence of LLM-driven information services is reshaping the conditions under which public knowledge institutions operate, threatening to absorb the editorial function these institutions exist to exercise. While LLMs offer powerful new affordances for knowledge dissemination, editorial authority is challenged by pretrained LLMs that arrive already aligned with the values and dissemination strategies of their commercial developers. This paper investigates editor participation in re-aligning LLM interfaces to editorial standards through design workshops, in a case study where we design and implement an LLM-enabled encyclopedia interface with a Nordic public knowledge institution. We introduce editorial alignment as a design practice within Participatory AI, framing AI alignment as a design process and positioning the editorial standard as a design artefact that translates editorial practice and values into alignment objectives for technical implementation. Last, we discuss how editorial alignment can create space for ongoing participation and give editors agency in LLM-mediated knowledge dissemination.