Science Advances' AI Policy: AAAS Rules for the Multidisciplinary OA Journal

A short history of the Science journals' position:

The 2023 editorial is useful context, but it no longer describes the policy. Check the current editorial policies and AI usage guidelines before you write your declaration.

The practical implication is to follow the current use-by-use table rather than the 2023 position.

Where the declaration goes depends on the use: the acknowledgments for writing, drafting or translation and for editing data visualizations, the methods for AI used in the research itself. Language refinement needs no declaration, though you may add one. The examples below are illustrative wording:

Acknowledgments disclosure:

"The authors acknowledge the use of ChatGPT (GPT-4, OpenAI) to draft portions of the manuscript text, which the authors then revised."

Methods section disclosure (more detailed):

"During the analysis, the authors used GitHub Copilot (Microsoft, [model name and version]) to write Python scripts for the molecular dynamics analysis. All code was reviewed by the corresponding author (R.T.) and validated against published benchmarks. The authors take full responsibility for the published content."

What wouldn't pass:

"AI tools assisted with this work."

Too vague. Doesn't identify the tool, the purpose, or the scope, and the guidelines ask for the model name and version number.

Science Advances covers everything from astrophysics to zoology. The disclosure format should reflect your field's conventions:

For a materials science paper:

"The authors used Claude (Claude 3.5, Anthropic) to edit the Introduction for language clarity. Density functional theory calculations were performed using VASP 6.3 without AI assistance. The authors take full responsibility for the content."

For a biological sciences paper:

"ChatGPT (GPT-4, OpenAI) was used to improve the readability of the Results and Discussion sections. No AI tools were used for experimental design, data collection, or biological interpretation. All AI-suggested edits were reviewed by three co-authors (J.L., M.K., S.P.)."

For a computational science paper:

"The neural network described in this paper was developed using PyTorch 2.1 (see Methods: Model Architecture). Separately, during manuscript preparation, the authors used ChatGPT (GPT-4, OpenAI) to edit the Introduction. The research methodology and the editing tool are entirely separate. The authors take full responsibility for the content."

What the policies say about enforcement:

During review:

• Editors may decline to move forward with manuscripts if AI is used inappropriately (per the editorial policies)

After publication:

• The Science journals handle integrity concerns, corrections, expressions of concern and retractions following COPE guidelines; the policies do not set a specific consequence for undisclosed AI use

The AAAS reputation factor: Science and Science Advances are published by the world's largest general scientific society. A publication ethics issue at either journal attracts attention from the broader scientific community, science journalists, and policy makers. The AAAS's annual meeting draws 10,000+ attendees, and publication ethics discussions at AAAS events reach a wider audience than at most scientific conferences.

PNAS requires disclosure in both Methods and Author Contributions, making it the most prescriptive about placement. eLife's funder-backed model means it has lower financial pressure around volume than fully APC-dependent publishers, which may affect how aggressively it enforces AI compliance.

For all submissions:

• Match the declaration to the use: acknowledgments for writing, drafting, translation and data-visualization editing; methods for AI used in the research. Name the model and version.

• If you're a non-native English speaker who used AI for language editing, this is acceptable under the current guidelines and needs no declaration, although you can add one for transparency.

For papers under 4,000 words:

• Keep the disclosure concise but complete: tool name, version, purpose, review confirmation

• Don't sacrifice research content space for an overly long AI disclosure

For papers with extensive supplementary material:

• AI use in supplementary material text follows the same rules as the main text

• If supplementary methods sections were AI-assisted, include this in the main Methods disclosure

For computational papers:

• Clearly separate research AI from writing AI

• Deposit code in a public repository

• AAAS expects data and code availability for computational work

Before submission checklist:

• [ ] Writing, drafting, translation or visualization-editing use declared in the Acknowledgments

• [ ] AI use in the research described in the Methods

• [ ] Tool name, version, and use case specified

• [ ] No AI-generated images

• [ ] Code deposited if applicable

• [ ] All co-authors aware of AI disclosure

• [ ] Research AI and writing AI clearly distinguished (if applicable)

A Science Advances submission readiness check can help verify your Science Advances submission meets AAAS standards before submission.