NIH issued NOT-OD-23-149 to inform the extramural research community that NIH reviewers are prohibited from using AI technologies as part of the peer review process.
Reviewers are required to sign an agreement certifying that they will maintain confidentiality throughout the application review process. This includes not sharing the applications nor meeting materials with anyone who is not part of the peer review process. Inputting grant application information to AI would constitute a breach of confidentiality.
Using AI to generate a peer review critique requires a considerable amount of information from the grant application to be input to the AI generator. Artificial intelligence tools do not guarantee where data are sent or saved, how or by whom they are viewed, nor how they might be used in the future.
The most recent NOT supplements NOT-OD-22-044, which outlines the rules and responsibilities of maintaining confidentiality during the peer review process. The original NOT also details the possible consequences for violations of confidentiality. These include termination of a peer reviewer’s service, referral for government-wide suspension or debarment, and several others.
