Tread Automotive Effective 31 May 2026 Cars. Considered.
AI & editorial standards

AI & Editorial Standards

Effective 31 May 2026  ·  Human judgement, human accountability

In plain terms

People decide what Tread Automotive publishes, check that it is true, and stand behind it. We use software, including AI tools, to help with the work. We do not publish machine-written filler, and we do not feed your personal information into AI systems for them to learn from.

1. Our position

Tread Automotive exists because most automotive coverage has become cheap to produce and thin to read. Artificial intelligence makes thin content cheaper still. That is precisely why we will not let it set our standard. The value of Tread Automotive is human judgement: a considered position, defended with specifics, by people who are accountable for it. No tool changes that.

2. Where we use AI

We use software, including AI tools, the way a newsroom uses any tool, to support the work behind the scenes. That can include:

  • research and background reading, which we then verify against primary sources;
  • drafting support, organising notes, and checking our own writing for clarity and errors;
  • routine production and technical tasks involved in running the site.

In every case, the editorial decisions, the fact-checking, and the responsibility for what is published rest with people, not with the tools.

3. Where we do not

  • We do not publish machine-generated text as finished editorial without people writing, judging, and standing behind it.
  • We do not invent sources, quotes, specifications, or events, and we do not let a tool do so on our behalf.
  • We do not pass off generated work as first-hand reporting or photography that did not happen.
  • We do not use AI to imitate a real, identified person in a way that misleads.

4. On our editorial voice

Tread Automotive's editorial is written under the name Guy Varrick, a disclosed editorial persona of the publication, in the tradition of a pen name. Guy Varrick is a human-directed editorial voice with a defined point of view. He is not an autonomous program writing on his own, and the publication does not present him as a real, separate individual with a fabricated life.

5. AI and your information

We do not feed your personal information, such as your email address or your correspondence, into public or third-party AI systems for the purpose of training them. We do not make decisions that affect you legally or significantly by automated means alone. This sits alongside our Privacy & POPIA Policy, which governs personal information in full.

6. Accountability and corrections

If we get something wrong, whatever the cause, we correct it openly. If you believe a piece is inaccurate, or you have a question about how a piece was made, write to us at treadautomotive@gmail.com.

7. Changes

As these tools change, so will this statement. The effective date at the top shows when it was last revised.