Peer Review as Structured Commentary: Immutable Identity, Public Dialogue, and Reproducible Scholarship

TL;DR

This paper proposes a transparent, blockchain-based peer review system that uses open commentary, AI synthesis, and identity linkage to enhance scholarly evaluation, reproducibility, and dynamic knowledge development.

Contribution

It introduces a novel peer review framework that replaces traditional anonymity with open, immutable commentary linked to researcher identities, integrating AI and blockchain for transparency and reproducibility.

Findings

Design of a blockchain-based review system

Use of AI for iterative synthesis of commentary

Enhanced transparency and traceability in peer review

Abstract

This paper reconceptualises peer review as structured public commentary. Traditional academic validation is hindered by anonymity, latency, and gatekeeping. We propose a transparent, identity-linked, and reproducible system of scholarly evaluation anchored in open commentary. Leveraging blockchain for immutable audit trails and AI for iterative synthesis, we design a framework that incentivises intellectual contribution, captures epistemic evolution, and enables traceable reputational dynamics. This model empowers fields from computational science to the humanities, reframing academic knowledge as a living process rather than a static credential.