Future of Research

Peer Review in the AGI Era

How AI is changing what gets submitted, what gets reviewed, and how journals are adapting to maintain trust.

Risograph illustration of AI-augmented research environment — Plate / AI is becoming a junior collaborator in most active research fields.

Executive summary

Peer review is being stressed by AI from both directions: AI-assisted submissions are rising in volume and polish, and AI-assisted reviewing is reshaping reviewer workload. Journals are updating disclosure policies and exploring new review architectures.

Key concepts

Submission volume and polish
Reviewer workload
Disclosure policies
New review architectures
Trust and integrity

What is changing on the submission side

More polished prose, higher submission volume, and a rising baseline of low-quality AI-generated submissions in some fields.

What is changing on the review side

Reviewer workload can be lifted by AI summarisation and consistency checks. Some journals now offer AI-assisted reviewer tools.

Disclosure and detection

Disclosure policies are now standard at major journals. Detection is imperfect; norms are evolving toward responsibility rather than perfect detection.

New review architectures

Open review, post-publication review, and structured replication are gaining traction. They are partly responses to AI pressure and partly long-running reform.

Key takeaways

01Submission polish and volume are rising.
02Reviewer workload can be eased by AI assistance.
03Disclosure norms are standard at major journals.
04Architectural reform is partly an AI-era response.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use AI to draft my paper?

At most journals, yes, with disclosure. Final responsibility for accuracy remains the author's.

Should reviewers use AI?

Many journals now permit AI-assisted reviewing within disclosure limits; some prohibit submitting unpublished manuscripts to external AI services.