Because of the quickly evolving nature of artificial intelligence, we will continue to update and refine these policies when appropriate.
Artificial Intelligence Policy for Authors
The following guidance is subject to adjustment or refinement in accordance with technology advances.
Authors preparing work to submit to the Journal of Dairy Science or JDS Communications may use artificial intelligence tools during the research process, but not as substitutes for human critical thinking, expertise, and evaluation. The application of artificial intelligence technology must be under human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as artificial intelligence tools can generate seemingly authoritative output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
Authors who use generative artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies must include a disclaimer in the Notes section of their article (see Artificial Intelligence Disclosure) upon submission.
Authors remain fully accountable for their submissions, published articles, and any tools or sources they use in their creation. Authors take full responsibility for the accuracy of all content, including the verification that all claims, citations, and analyses align with their expertise and research.
Authors should thoroughly review the terms, conditions, licenses, or terms of use associated with any artificial intelligence technology they use. They must ensure that the artificial intelligence platform does not claim ownership of their content or impose usage restrictions that could infringe upon their rights, the journal’s rights, or the publisher’s rights.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Writing
Authors may only use generative artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly’s writing assistant, and Jasper) in the writing process to improve readability and language.
Authors may not use output from artificial intelligence agents or deep research directly as the text of their manuscript.
Artificial intelligence output may only serve as inspiration in the manuscript-preparation process, and the manuscript must represent the authors’ authentic and original contribution and reflect the authors’ own analysis, interpretation, and ideas. Additionally, authors must carefully check all artificial intelligence–generated output for factual accuracy, comprehensiveness, and impartiality, and verify all sources.
Artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence–assisted technologies must not be listed as an author or coauthor, or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans, as outlined in Elsevier’s artificial intelligence policy for authors.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Figures and Images
Authors may not use artificial intelligence tools to create, alter, or manipulate original research data and results. In addition, authors may not use generative artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools in the production of artwork, such as for graphical abstracts or figures.
The only exception is if the use of artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools is part of the research design or research methods (such as in artificial intelligence–assisted imaging approaches to generate or interpret the underlying research data). If this is done, such use must be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section. This should include an explanation of how the artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted tools were used in the image creation or alteration process, and the name of the model or tool, version and extension numbers, and manufacturer. Authors should adhere to the artificial intelligence software’s specific usage policies and ensure correct content attribution.
Artificial Intelligence Disclosure
In the Notes section, authors must disclose all artificial intelligence technologies used, detailing their purpose, any influence on key arguments or conclusions, and the methods used to personally review and verify artificial intelligence–generated content:
During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [tool or service] in order to [reasons for use]. After using [tool or service], the author(s) [detail any influence on key arguments or conclusions] and [describe the extent of your oversight]. The author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
A statement is not necessary for the use of basic tools (for example, those that check grammar, spelling, references, and so on). A statement is not needed if there is nothing to disclose.
Artificial Intelligence Policy for Reviewers
Confidentiality of the Manuscript
Reviewing a scientific manuscript implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans. Generative artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted technologies may not be used by reviewers to assist in the actual scientific review of a manuscript, as the critical thinking and original assessment needed for peer review are outside the scope of this technology, and there is a risk that the technology will generate incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions about the manuscript. The reviewer is responsible and accountable for the content of the review report.
Further, by accepting an invitation to review a manuscript for the Journal of Dairy Science or JDS Communications, reviewers agree to treat the manuscript (including any associated files) as a confidential document.
As such, reviewers may not upload a full or partial manuscript into an artificial intelligence tool, as this constitutes a breach of confidentiality and thus, a breach of the authors’ and journals’ proprietary rights. Should the manuscript include any personally identifiable data, this may be a breach of data privacy rights.
Confidentiality extends to the full review itself, as it may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors. Reviewers may only use artificial intelligence tools on their own content (i.e., their own words) to assist with language, as outlined below, and they remain responsible for the content of their review.
Permissible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Reviewer’s Own Work
The use of artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly’s writing assistant, and Jasper) is only permitted in the peer-review process for improving the language and readability of the reviewer’s own words, and only if the material submitted to artificial intelligence technologies or services contains no proprietary or confidential information, including the manuscript content.
Reviewers are asked to confirm that artificial intelligence was used solely for the permitted purpose of improving the language and readability of their own words upon submission of their review(s).
Artificial Intelligence Policy for Journal Editors
Evaluating and shepherding a scientific manuscript through the peer-review process implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans. Generative artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence–assisted technologies may not be used by journal editors to assist in the evaluation of or decision-making process for a manuscript, as the critical thinking and original assessment needed are outside the scope of this technology, and there is a risk that the technology will generate incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions about the manuscript. Editors are responsible and accountable for the editorial process, decisions on the manuscript, and the communication thereof to the authors.
By accepting the invitation to serve as an editor for the Journal of Dairy Science or JDS Communications, editors agree to treat manuscripts and their involved communications as confidential.
As such, editors may not upload a full or partial manuscript into an artificial intelligence tool, as this constitutes a breach of confidentiality and thus, a breach of the authors’ and journals’ proprietary rights. Should the manuscript include any personally identifiable data, this may be a breach of data privacy rights.
Confidentiality extends to communications regarding the manuscript, as these may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors.
Thus, the use of artificial intelligence is only permitted in the peer-review process for improving the language and readability of your own work, and only if the material submitted to artificial intelligence technologies or services contains no proprietary or confidential information, including the manuscript content.
See https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals#3-for-editors for more information.
Note: The Journal of Dairy Science and JDS Communications do make use of artificial intelligence technology to ensure submitted papers are authentic, original works. ClearSkies is a research-integrity checker that uses artificial intelligence to aggregate data to reveal patterns indicating suspicious activity such as “papermill” origination. Senior editors will determine what steps, if any, need to be taken if a paper is flagged as potentially problematic by the ClearSkies checker. The iThenticate tool evaluates manuscript submissions for potential plagiarism. A numeric score is provided for all reviewed papers, and if the resulting “similarity score” is above a certain threshold, editors can investigate any identified duplication. Both of these systems are “closed,” and no proprietary information is uploaded for public use.