Introduction

Our journal is committed to ensure the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct. As the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in research and manuscript preparation grows, it is essential to establish clear guidelines regarding the responsible use of AI in the publication process. This policy shows the expectations for authors, reviewers and editors regarding AI-assisted content creation, submission and evaluation.

Definition of AI

For the purpose of this policy, AI refers to any technology that automates content creation, data analysis or assistance in several intellectual tasks. This includes the use of Generative AI tools like Chat GPT, DALL-E and other AI systems that can generate, suggest or modify text, images, data or code. AI tools can also be used in manuscript writing, data analysis, literature review, graphical content creation and more.

Disclosure

• Authors must fully disclose the use of AI in the creation of their manuscript. This includes AI’s involvement in any phase of manuscript preparation that includes-
  • Text generation or modification
  • Data analysis and interpretation
  • Creation of visual content such as figures, graphs
  • Literature search and review
  • Statistical or algorithmic assistance
• Authors should include a statement within the manuscript either in the Acknowledgements or Methods section which describes the specific AI tools used and their role in the research.
• Authors are responsible for the content’s accuracy, authenticity and originality. Even if AI tools assist in content creation, the authors must ensure the final manuscript meets ethical standards that include checking plagiarism or data manipulation.

Authorship

• AI tools cannot be credited as authors. The persons who have made a noteworthy academic input with respect to a specific field in research as well as in preparing an article are eligible for authorship that also aligns with the journal’s authorship criteria.
• The researchers should recognize and mention the amount of contribution of any particular AI tool utilized for any of the work like creation of textual as well as graphical information if the same has been used in the research.

Ethical Considerations

• The authors must make sure that their research should not include any incorrect or invalid information generated with the employment of a particular AI tool in their work to maintain academic reliability.
• The utilization of AI tools in any research or academic work should obey all the privacy and ethical laws applicable to all kinds of data or information used by the contributors.

Peer Review

• The reviewers must reveal any conflicts of interest occurred due to the use of various AI tools in the peer-review procedure. They should be neutral and unbiased and make sure that the evaluation of the research work is authentic.
• Although the journal can make use of different software to check the content for its authenticity like plagiarism check and inappropriate usage of AI tools in the submissions, considering it to be a part of quality check process.

Editorial Board

• While executing the evaluation of manuscripts, the editorial board will consider this AI policy as well as can ask for the professional guidance and recommendation to review AI generated information to preserve originality of the work.
• This policy document will be updated from time to time with the evolution of numerous advanced technologies and higher industry protocols. The same will be corresponded to various stakeholders in the whole process i.e., authors, reviewers and editors.

Publication Process

• The journal should abide by the ethical guidelines and laws and unveil if any application of AI tool is involved in the process of formatting, editing and designing of the submitted manuscript.
• The journal can take stringent measure such as rejecting or retracting an article if any AI-generated text or graphics are found to be included in their submission to reproduce the existing research work without suitable acknowledgment for the same.

Compliance with Laws and Guidelines

All AI use must comply with relevant national and international laws which include-

• Data protection and privacy regulations
• Intellectual property rights
• Ethical guidelines for research and publishing

Key Points

• All uses of AI must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript.
• Authors must ensure the AI tools used comply with ethical guidelines to avoid bias, plagiarism or data manipulation.
• The journal reserves the right to utilize AI tools for detection of academic misconduct that includes plagiarism and improper use of AI.
• AI tools should respect data privacy regulations especially when personal or sensitive data is involved.
• This policy will evolve with advancements in AI which ensures the journal follows responsible academic publishing practices.

This policy promotes ethical AI use maintaining the standards of scientific and academic integrity. Authors, reviewers and editors are encouraged to utilize AI technologies responsibly and in line with these guidelines.