Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
This policy governs the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies by authors, reviewers, and editors across the publication process.
Use by Authors
AI tools (e.g., large language models) may be used to assist with language editing, formatting, or literature searching, provided their use is disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgments section, specifying the tool and its purpose.
AI tools must not be listed as an author, since authorship requires accountability that AI systems cannot bear.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content, including any text, data, code, or images generated or assisted by AI.
Undisclosed use of AI to generate substantive content, data, or images presented as original human work is treated as a research integrity concern.
AI-generated or AI-manipulated images and figures are not permitted unless explicitly disclosed and, where relevant, methodologically justified (e.g., in AI-focused research).
Use by Reviewers
Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscript content to generative AI tools or third-party platforms not covered by a data-protection agreement with the publisher.
AI tools may not substitute for the reviewer's own expert evaluation, and reviews must reflect the named reviewer's independent judgment.
Use by Editors
Editors may use AI tools for administrative and screening support but must not rely on AI in place of human editorial judgment for scientific or ethical decisions.
Confidential manuscript content must not be entered into AI systems lacking appropriate data protection safeguards.
AI in Research Methodology
Where AI/ML methods are central to the research itself (e.g., a study developing or applying a machine learning model), authors must disclose datasets, training/validation/test splits, evaluation metrics, and known limitations or biases, consistent with the journal's reporting requirements.