Artificial Intelligence Policy

Version: 1.0
Effective date: 15/07/2025
Review cycle: annually or as needed

 

 

1. Authorship and Responsibility

• Only humans can be listed as authors. This follows current copyright law (AI is not a legal rights holder) and international recommendations Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM),  as well as policies of major publishers. AI cannot sign license agreements, provide informed consent, declare conflicts of interest, or bear ethical and legal responsibility.
• Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of the text, data, images, and references, regardless of which tools were used.

 

2. Categories of AI Use

• Routine assistance includes spell‑/grammar‑ checking; automatic formatting; reference management without generating summaries; basic machine translation of a draft. Disclosure is not required for these uses.
• Substantial generative or analytical assistance includes generating or substantially rewriting text; creating images/tables/code; preparing literature reviews or digests; full‑ manuscript translation; data analysis performed by AI. Disclosure is required for these uses.
• Unacceptable use includes submitting AI-generated content as one's own work without verification; using AI to breach confidentiality (uploading manuscripts or reviews to public AI services); using AI to circumvent the peer review process (e.g., generating responses to reviewer comments without proper understanding); delegating critical analysis to AI without human verification; using AI to generate multiple variations of the same work for submission to different journals. Such use is prohibited.

 

3. How to Disclose Substantial AI Use

Include a brief statement directly in the manuscript (e.g., in “Methods” or “Acknowledgements”) specifying:

1. the tool’s name, provider/organization, version or access date;
2. what part of the work the tool performed;
3. confirmation that the authors verified and corrected the AI-generated output.

 

Example:

“Portions of the manuscript text were edited using the GPT-4 model (OpenAI, accessed 12 May 2025). All generated content was reviewed and revised by the authors.”

4. Accuracy and Verification

Authors must check AI-gene rated material for factual errors, bias, fabricated references, or misleading interpretations.

5. Confidentiality in Peer Review

Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts or any of their parts to open/public AI services. If technical assistance is needed, only solutions that ensure confidentiality (local/corporate) may be used, or prior approval must be obtained from the Editor-in-Chief.

6. Violations and Consequences

Failure to comply with this policy may result in rejection of the manuscript, publication of a correction, or formal withdrawal of the article, in accordance with the journal’s ethical standards and COPE guidelines.

7. Policy Review

This document is reviewed at least once a year, considering updates from international bodies (COPE, IEEE, ACM, etc.) and advances in AI technologies.

 

 

Quick FAQ

 

For authors

 

Do I need to state that I used spell/grammar checkers or automatic formatting tools?
No. These are routine tools and do not require disclosure.

I translated the manuscript with a machine translator and then edited it. Should I disclose this?
Yes, if the translation covers a substantial portion of the manuscript. Indicate the tool and confirm accuracy checking.

The model generated a paragraph or section—must I disclose it?
Yes. Any creation or substantial rewriting of text by AI is considered substantial use.

AI helped with data analysis or code. Should this be disclosed?
Yes. Describe which part of the analysis/code the tool performed.

Do I need to provide prompts and intermediate outputs?
The editorial office may request them if questions arise. Keep these materials at least until the editorial process is complete.

Can AI be a co-author?
No. Under copyright law and international ethical standards, AI has no legal personhood and cannot assume authorship responsibilities.

Where exactly should I put the disclosure?
In “Methods” or “Acknowledgements”. Supplementary materials are also acceptable.

Do you check every text for “AI-generated” content?
No. We rely on authors’ integrity and conduct selective checks.

 

For reviewers

 

May I use AI to improve the style of my review comments?
Yes, provided you do not disclose manuscript content to a public service. Use local/secure solutions or seek approval from the editorial office.

I suspect improper AI use in a manuscript. What should I do?
Flag it in your review comments. The editors will decide if clarification from the authors is needed.

Can I upload the manuscript to a public AI service to “improve” my review?
No. That would breach the confidentiality of the peer-review process.