Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy For Authors

ESA Publications follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position that artificial intelligence (AI) tools cannot be recognized as authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted manuscript. If authors use AI tools such as ChatGPT or other large language models in the writing of a manuscript, in the production of images, or in the collection and analysis of data, they must transparently disclose how and which tool was used in the section of the manuscript to which use of AI pertains, with an additional disclosure statement in the paper’s Acknowledgments. In addition, this must be disclosed in the manuscript submission form. Tools that are used to improve spelling, grammar, and general editing are excluded from the scope of these guidelines. Authors are responsible for all content generated by AI tools.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy For Editors and Reviewers

Per the ESA Code of Ethics, “Editors and reviewers will treat manuscripts under review as confidential, recognizing them as intellectual property of the author(s).” Accordingly, as described in our publishing partner Wiley’s Ethics Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence, editors and reviewers must not upload any part of a manuscript—including its figures and tables—to an AI tool, as this violates the confidentiality of the peer review process, the copyright of the manuscript under review, and the privacy of the authors and reviewers. Editors and reviewers are permitted to use AI tools for the sole purpose of improving the quality of their written comments and must declare this upon submission of their review. Ultimately, the peer review process is a human endeavor. The individuals who accept a peer review invitation from ESA journals are responsible and accountable for submitting a peer review report, in line with a journal’s editorial policies. This process may not be delegated to a generative AI (GenAI) tool.