The 59th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC 2027), a premier conference for theoretical computer science research, has introduced several policy experiments for its 2027 edition in response to the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence. These changes aim to maintain research quality and ensure clear communication of scientific work. Among the most notable updates is the requirement that all submissions be made publicly available on arXiv before the submission deadline. Authors must provide a public URL or proof of submission, and the version submitted to the conference must be identical to the public preprint. Additionally, authors are now required to submit a 20-to-30-minute video presentation explaining their research, its context, and its innovations. While the written paper remains the primary object of review, these videos are intended to provide reviewers with additional intuition and motivation. The conference has also clarified its stance on generative AI, explicitly stating that authorship is restricted to humans. While authors may use large language models (LLMs) for tasks such as copy-editing or grammar improvement, any substantive use of these tools in research methodology, analysis, or content generation must be disclosed in an AI methodologies statement at the end of the paper. The conference organizers emphasized that all listed authors are fully responsible for the content of their submissions, regardless of the tools used in the preparation process.
The STOC 2027 conference is a major event hosted by the Association for Computing Machinery, which is setting new standards for research integrity in the age of generative AI.