Artificial Intelligence Policy

Viterra: Agricultural, Biological and Natural Sciences acknowledges the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, in research, scientific writing, and scholarly communication. To safeguard scientific integrity, editorial transparency, and the credibility of the scholarly record, the journal establishes clear guidelines for the ethical, responsible, and transparent use of these technologies by authors, reviewers, and editors.

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not replace human responsibility under any circumstances. Authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team remain fully responsible for the content produced, the evaluations conducted, and the decisions made throughout all stages of the editorial process.

For Authors

Authors may use artificial intelligence tools exclusively for legitimate and limited purposes, such as writing assistance, grammar correction, language improvement, formatting, or enhancing the clarity of the manuscript. When the use of AI goes beyond basic editorial assistance, it must be explicitly disclosed in the manuscript, either in the Acknowledgements section or through a specific transparency statement.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy, consistency, originality, and validity of all content generated or assisted by AI tools. The use of these technologies does not exempt authors from responsibility for errors, inaccurate data, fabricated statements, nonexistent references, significant omissions, or inappropriate citation practices.

Generative AI tools do not meet the criteria for academic authorship and therefore may not be listed as authors or co-authors. Automated systems cannot assume intellectual, ethical, or scientific responsibility for scholarly work.

The inclusion of fabricated references, manipulated data, AI-generated falsified images, or fabricated results is strictly prohibited. Authors must ensure that all cited sources are genuine, verifiable, and properly referenced. AI tools should not be cited as primary sources of scientific information.

When artificial intelligence is used for data analysis, environmental or biological data processing, image generation, simulations, model development, figure preparation, or other substantial research activities, its use must be clearly described in the Methodology section, providing sufficient information to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Any ethical, legal, or copyright implications arising from such use remain the sole responsibility of the authors.

Failure to disclose the use of AI or the inappropriate use of these technologies in ways that compromise scientific integrity may be considered a serious breach of publication ethics and may result in manuscript rejection, publication of corrections, or article retraction.

For Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers and editors must not use generative AI tools to draft or substantially prepare peer-review reports, editorial evaluations, or publication decisions. This restriction is intended to protect manuscript confidentiality, prevent the unauthorized processing of sensitive information, and preserve the academic rigor of editorial assessments.

Exceptionally, AI may be used only for limited language editing or grammatical correction of reviewers' or editors' own comments, provided that confidential manuscript information is not uploaded to external systems and that AI does not replace independent human judgment.

Editorial decisions must be based exclusively on human academic evaluation, supported by disciplinary expertise, professional ethics, and critical assessment of the submitted work. Automated tools must not replace or automate editorial decision-making.

Use of Automated Tools by the Journal

The journal may use automated tools for administrative purposes and to safeguard scientific integrity, including plagiarism detection, reference verification, and scientific image analysis. These tools operate under human supervision, and their results are carefully evaluated by the editorial team.

The use of such technologies is complementary and does not replace editorial judgment. Any concerns identified through these tools will be assessed individually and contextually, ensuring that authors have the opportunity to provide explanations whenever appropriate.

Alignment with International Standards

This policy is aligned with internationally recognized guidelines on the responsible use of artificial intelligence in scholarly publishing, including the principles promoted by Elsevier regarding transparency, human accountability, authorship integrity, and responsible disclosure of AI use in scientific research.

For additional information, authors are encouraged to consult Elsevier's official policy on the use of artificial intelligence and generative AI in scientific journals:

https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals