AI Use Policy

Policy on the Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in Publication

1. Purpose and Scope

This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy establishes the principles and requirements governing the use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies in the preparation, submission, editorial management, and peer-review processes of the journal. The policy is intended to promote responsible, transparent, ethical, and accountable use of AI while safeguarding academic integrity, confidentiality, originality, authorship, and the independence of scholarly evaluation.

This policy applies to all authors, editors, editorial staff, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process.

2. General Principles

The journal recognizes that AI-assisted technologies may provide useful support in academic writing, language improvement, data processing, and other scholarly activities. However, the use of AI must not compromise the principles of academic integrity, research ethics, intellectual property, confidentiality, or accountability.

AI tools, including generative AI and large language models (LLMs), cannot be regarded as authors or co-authors of a manuscript. Human authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submissions, regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies have been used.

The use of AI must not replace the intellectual contribution, scholarly judgment, or responsibility of researchers and academic editors.

3. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted tools in a limited and responsible manner to support their scholarly work. Permitted uses may include, but are not limited to:

  • improving grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language clarity;
  • assisting with translation, provided that the author verifies the accuracy and appropriateness of the translation;
  • improving the readability, structure, or organization of author-generated text;
  • assisting with brainstorming or generating preliminary ideas;
  • assisting with coding, data processing, or other technical tasks, provided that the outputs are independently verified; and
  • supporting other non-substantive aspects of manuscript preparation.

Authors remain fully responsible for verifying all AI-generated or AI-assisted content. AI-generated information must not be presented as fact without appropriate verification. Authors are particularly responsible for identifying and correcting fabricated references, inaccurate statements, inappropriate interpretations, biased outputs, or other errors generated by AI systems.

The use of AI should be below 20%.

3.1 Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies when such tools have contributed materially to the preparation or development of the manuscript.

The disclosure should specify:

  1. the name of the AI tool or system used;
  2. the purpose for which it was used; and
  3. the extent or nature of its contribution.

For example:

Declaration of AI-Assisted Technology Use: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of AI tool] for [e.g., language editing and improvement of readability]. The authors subsequently reviewed and edited all AI-assisted content and take full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.

Routine use of basic spelling, grammar, or reference-management software does not normally require a formal declaration unless such tools employ generative AI in a substantive manner.

3.2 Prohibited Uses by Authors

Authors must not use AI tools to:

  • fabricate or manipulate research data, results, images, or findings;
  • generate or falsify references or citations;
  • plagiarize or reproduce copyrighted material without appropriate authorization;
  • misrepresent AI-generated content as entirely human-generated when disclosure is required;
  • generate fraudulent research findings or conclusions;
  • conceal substantial AI-generated contributions to the manuscript; or
  • circumvent the journal's ethical, editorial, or peer-review requirements.

The use of AI does not relieve authors of their responsibility to comply with applicable research ethics, copyright, data protection, and publication-ethics requirements.

4. Use of AI by Editors

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies for limited administrative or editorial purposes, provided that such use does not compromise editorial independence, confidentiality, or fairness.

Permitted uses may include:

  • assisting with administrative or organizational tasks;
  • identifying potential formatting or language issues;
  • supporting the organization or categorization of editorial information; and
  • assisting with other routine editorial tasks that do not involve making substantive decisions on behalf of the editor.

However, AI must not independently determine the acceptance, rejection, or revision of a manuscript. All editorial decisions must remain the responsibility of qualified human editors based on scholarly judgment, the journal's policies, and the evidence available through the editorial and peer-review process.

Editors must exercise particular caution when using AI systems that process manuscript content. Confidential manuscripts, unpublished research findings, personal information, reviewer identities, or other sensitive editorial information must not be uploaded to publicly accessible or unauthorized AI systems.

Editors are responsible for ensuring that the use of AI does not introduce bias, compromise confidentiality, or interfere with the integrity and independence of the editorial process.

5. Prohobition of AI Use by Reviewers

Reviewers are strictly prohibited from using generative AI tools, large language models (LLMs), or other AI-assisted systems to conduct, generate, or substantially support peer reviews of manuscripts submitted to the journal.

This prohibition applies to the use of AI for:

  • reading or analyzing the manuscript for review purposes;
  • generating review comments or recommendations;
  • evaluating the manuscript's originality, methodology, results, or conclusions;
  • generating a peer-review report;
  • deciding whether a manuscript should be accepted, revised, or rejected;
  • summarizing confidential manuscript content for the purpose of preparing a review; or
  • uploading any portion or the entirety of a manuscript into an AI system for analysis.

The prohibition is necessary because manuscripts submitted for peer review are confidential documents containing unpublished intellectual work. Uploading manuscript content to an external AI system may create risks concerning confidentiality, intellectual property, data security, and unauthorized disclosure.

Peer reviewers are expected to conduct their evaluations independently and personally, based on their own academic expertise and professional judgment.

5.1 Human Responsibility of Reviewers

Reviewers must personally evaluate the manuscript and provide constructive, objective, evidence-based, and confidential feedback. AI-generated or AI-assisted peer-review reports are not acceptable.

Reviewers must also ensure that their recommendations and comments accurately represent their own scholarly assessment of the manuscript.

If a reviewer is unable to conduct the review independently or has a potential conflict of interest, the reviewer should decline the invitation or notify the editor promptly.

6. Confidentiality and Data Protection

All participants in the publication process must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and associated editorial information.

Manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, unpublished data, author information, and other confidential materials must not be entered into publicly accessible AI tools or other unauthorized third-party systems.

Any use of AI that involves processing confidential journal materials must comply with the journal's data-protection and confidentiality requirements.

7. Accountability and Verification

AI-assisted technologies do not bear responsibility for scholarly work. Authors, editors, and reviewers remain accountable for their respective contributions and decisions.

The journal may request clarification or additional information concerning the use of AI when necessary to ensure compliance with this policy.

Where there is evidence of undisclosed, inappropriate, or unethical use of AI, the journal may take appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics and editorial procedures. Such action may include requesting clarification, requiring revision, rejecting a manuscript, withdrawing a publication, or referring the matter for further investigation, depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern.

8. Ethical and Responsible Use

The journal supports the responsible use of emerging technologies when they contribute to scholarly communication without compromising human authorship, academic integrity, confidentiality, or editorial independence.

The fundamental principle of this policy is that AI may assist scholarly work, but it must not replace human scholarly responsibility and judgment.

All individuals involved in the publication process are expected to use AI technologies, where permitted, transparently, responsibly, and in accordance with applicable research ethics, publication-ethics standards, copyright requirements, and the journal's policies.

9. Policy Review

Because AI technologies and their associated ethical and legal implications continue to evolve, this policy may be periodically reviewed and updated by the journal to reflect emerging international standards and best practices in scholarly publishing.

The policy became effective from Vol. 3 No. 3 onwards.