Merton101 · Case 21 · Science and publishing

AI manuscript surge floods academic journals and strains peer review

Reported 24 Sep 2026 · entered the ledger 25 Sep 2026 · last checked 25 Sep 2026 · Side effect

Academic journals and submission platforms are experiencing large surges in AI-generated papers and referee reports. Organization Science found that submissions rose 42% since ChatGPT's release while over 30% of referee reports showed detectable AI involvement, forcing the journal to nearly double its senior editorial bench to manage the influx.

The institution Academic journals and peer-review systems institution · US

The mechanism Friction removed externality scale 4 of 5, fast

Adaptation detect the institution can tell machine from human, and stops there

The case as the ledger holds it

The assumption that broke: Preparing academic papers and peer review reports requires non-trivial human intellectual effort, which historically served as a rate-limiting filter on submission volumes.
The first-order effect: Submissions rose 42% at Organization Science and 33% across ScholarOne in Q1 2026, desk rejections surged 72%, over 30% of referee reports showed AI involvement, and Organization Science had to expand its deputy-editor bench from six to eleven and roughly double senior editors to about 60.
Who pays: Volunteer academic editors and peer reviewers who must absorb and screen the inflated volume of low-effort manuscripts and referee reports · group: Volunteers and reviewers
Scale and speed: 4 of 5 · fast

Evidence 1 page read

Latin Times ↗ 24 Sep 2026
The burden lands on volunteers: the journal expanded its deputy-editor bench from six to eleven and roughly doubled its senior editors, to about 60.

The second reader every claim, checked against the page

Claim	Verdict	Note
The editorial team at Organization Science fed 6,957 manuscripts and 10,389 referee reports, all received since January 2021, into the Pangram detection tool.	supported	Page states: "The editorial team at Organization Science fed 6,957 manuscripts and 10,389 referee reports, all received since January 2021, into the Pangram detection tool."
Since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut, submissions have risen 42%, about twice the increase the journal saw in the pandemic era.	supported	Page states: "Since ChatGPT's late-2022 debut, submissions have risen 42%, about twice the increase the journal saw in the pandemic era."
Journals on the ScholarOne platform took in 33% more papers in the first quarter of 2026 than in the year-earlier quarter, after 17% growth in 2025.	supported	Page states: "journals on the system took in 33% more papers in the first quarter of 2026 than in the year-earlier quarter, after 17% growth in 2025."
From 2022 to 2025 desk rejections increased 72%, versus 43% for total decisions, and editors now turn away 2.49 papers at the desk for every one accepted, up from 1.69.	supported	Page states: "From 2022 to 2025 they increased 72%, versus 43% for total decisions, and editors now turn away 2.49 papers at the desk for every one accepted, up from 1.69."
Over 30% of reports at Organization Science show detectable AI involvement, up from almost none before ChatGPT.	supported	Page states: "Over 30% of reports at Organization Science show detectable AI involvement, up from almost none before ChatGPT."
Just 3.2% of submissions with AI scores of 70% or above received a revise-and-resubmit verdict, compared with 11.9% for low-AI manuscripts.	supported	Page states: "Just 3.2% of submissions with AI scores of 70% or above received a revise-and-resubmit verdict, compared with 11.9% for low-AI manuscripts."
The journal expanded its deputy-editor bench from six to eleven and roughly doubled its senior editors, to about 60.	supported	Page states: "the journal expanded its deputy-editor bench from six to eleven and roughly doubled its senior editors, to about 60."