Use of Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies
Artificial intelligence (AI) is software used by computers to mimic aspects of human intelligence.
AI-assisted technologies are software applications that use artificial intelligence algorithms to perform specific tasks and solve problems.
Machine learning is an application of AI that enables systems to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.
Authors must disclose in the manuscript their use and a statement will be required in the published work. The statement should provide detail of which elements of the work were generated by AI and AI-assisted technologies. Editors and reviewers will judge if its use is appropriate. Published articles in which the use of such technologies is subsequently discovered may be retracted. Research articles on the topic of AI (but which do not contain AI-generated content) are not within the scope of this policy.
Where used in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work. Use of AI in language editing must be declared. They may be used as a ‘search engine’ eg, to aid identification of suitable code or statistical techniques. Use of AI to predict 3D protein structures is another example of legitimate use.
They must not replace key researcher tasks such as producing scientific insights, analysing and interpreting data or drawing scientific conclusions.
In addition:
- Such systems must not plagiarize, misrepresent, or falsify content
- The resulting work in its totality must be an accurate representation of the authors’ underlying work and novel intellectual contributions and is not primarily the result of the tool’s generative capabilities
- It is recognised that these technologies can produce unpredicted outcomes (eg, references which do not exist), the authors accept responsibility for the veracity and correctness of all material in their work, including any computer-generated material
Authors must not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the work is original, that the stated authors qualify for authorship, and the work does not infringe third party rights, and should familiarize themselves with our publishing policies.
Journals reserve the right to ask authors who use AI for their corresponding prompts and outputs, which can be supplied as ESM files. Please note that journals may reject any submissions that are unable to provide these.