Governing the Game-Changer: Reimagining Peer Review in the Age of AI

The peer review system, long regarded as the cornerstone of scholarly publishing, is facing unprecedented strain. Rising submission volumes, reviewer fatigue, and increasing instances of research misconduct have revealed deep structural vulnerabilities. Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents transformative opportunities to reinforce this essential process, accelerating reviewer selection, detecting manipulation, and advancing equity in participation. Yet, it also introduces new risks of over-reliance, opacity, bias, and the potential erosion of trust in scientific judgment. This Perspective explores the dual role of AI in peer review, analyzing both its capacity to enhance integrity and its potential to destabilize it. Drawing on insights from leading publishers and emerging governance models, we argue that the future of peer review will be defined not by the sophistication of algorithms but by the strength of the ethical frameworks that govern them. With transparency, accountability, and hybrid human machine collaboration at its foundation, AI can help transform peer review into a more inclusive, efficient, and trustworthy system, provided that integrity remains its guiding principle.