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Can AI help authors prepare better risk science manuscripts?
Editorial   Open access   Peer reviewed

Can AI help authors prepare better risk science manuscripts?

Louis Anthony Cox, Terje Aven, Seth Guikema, Charles N Haas, James H Lambert, Karen Lowrie, George Maldonado and Felicia Wu
Risk analysis
06 Jun 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.70055
PMID: 40480952
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.70055View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze),  Open

Abstract

artificial intelligence augmented intelligence human-machine interaction large language models (LLMs) peer review risk analysis scientific journals scientific publishing
Scientists, publishers, and journal editors are wondering how, whether, and to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) tools might soon help to advance the rigor, efficiency, and value of scientific peer review. Will AI provide timely, useful feedback that helps authors improve their manuscripts while avoiding the biases and inconsistencies of human reviewers? Or might it instead generate low-quality verbiage, add noise and errors, reinforce flawed reasoning, and erode trust in the review process? This perspective reports on evaluations of two experimental AI systems: (i) a "Screener" available at http://screener.riskanalysis.cloud/ that gives authors feedback on whether a draft paper (or abstract, proposal, etc.) appears to be a fit for the journal Risk Analysis, based on the guidance to authors provided by the journal (https://www.sra.org/journal/what-makes-a-good-risk-analysis-article/); and (ii) a more ambitious "Reviewer" (http://aia1.moirai-solutions.com/) that gives substantive technical feedback and recommends how to improve the clarity of methodology and the interpretation of results. The evaluations were conducted by a convenience sample of Risk Analysis Area Editors (AEs) and authors, including two authors of manuscripts in progress and four authors of papers that had already been published. The Screener was generally rated as useful. It has been deployed at Risk Analysis since January of 2025. On the other hand, the Reviewer had mixed ratings, ranging from strongly positive to strongly negative. This perspective describes both the lessons learned and potential next steps in making AI tools useful to authors prior to peer review by human experts.Scientists, publishers, and journal editors are wondering how, whether, and to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) tools might soon help to advance the rigor, efficiency, and value of scientific peer review. Will AI provide timely, useful feedback that helps authors improve their manuscripts while avoiding the biases and inconsistencies of human reviewers? Or might it instead generate low-quality verbiage, add noise and errors, reinforce flawed reasoning, and erode trust in the review process? This perspective reports on evaluations of two experimental AI systems: (i) a "Screener" available at http://screener.riskanalysis.cloud/ that gives authors feedback on whether a draft paper (or abstract, proposal, etc.) appears to be a fit for the journal Risk Analysis, based on the guidance to authors provided by the journal (https://www.sra.org/journal/what-makes-a-good-risk-analysis-article/); and (ii) a more ambitious "Reviewer" (http://aia1.moirai-solutions.com/) that gives substantive technical feedback and recommends how to improve the clarity of methodology and the interpretation of results. The evaluations were conducted by a convenience sample of Risk Analysis Area Editors (AEs) and authors, including two authors of manuscripts in progress and four authors of papers that had already been published. The Screener was generally rated as useful. It has been deployed at Risk Analysis since January of 2025. On the other hand, the Reviewer had mixed ratings, ranging from strongly positive to strongly negative. This perspective describes both the lessons learned and potential next steps in making AI tools useful to authors prior to peer review by human experts.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods
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