AI policy

1. General Principles

AI tools may be used to support research and communication, but they must not replace human intellectual responsibility. All content submitted to or handled by the journal must reflect the authors’ or reviewers’ own critical judgment, scientific reasoning, and accountability.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

All users remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of their work.

2. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI tools for limited and well-defined purposes, including:

  • Language editing, grammar correction, and clarity improvement
  • Formatting and structuring assistance
  • Supporting coding or data processing tasks

However, the following conditions apply:

  • Authors must ensure that all content is factually accurate, properly interpreted, and free of fabricated information
  • AI-generated content must not replace original scientific reasoning, analysis, or interpretation
  • Authors must verify all references, data, and claims independently

Disclosure Requirement

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools if they have been used beyond basic language editing.

The disclosure should include:

  • The name of the AI tool
  • The purpose of its use
  • The extent of its contribution

This disclosure should be included in a separate statement in the manuscript.

3. Use of AI by Reviewers

Reviewers may use AI tools only for limited support functions, such as:

  • Improving clarity and structure of review comments
  • Language refinement

Reviewers must not:

  • Upload or share confidential manuscript content with AI tools that store, learn from, or reuse the data
  • Use AI tools to generate substantive parts of the review without critical human evaluation
  • Delegate the evaluation of scientific content to AI systems

All review content must reflect the reviewer’s own expert judgment.

4. Use of AI by Editors

Editors may use AI tools to support editorial processes, including:

  • Initial screening support
  • Language checks
  • Administrative efficiency

However:

  • Editorial decisions must be made solely by human editors
  • AI tools must not replace editorial judgment
  • Confidential manuscript content must not be shared with AI systems that may retain or reuse the data

5. Ethical and Legal Considerations

Users of AI tools must ensure:

  • Compliance with data protection and confidentiality requirements
  • Respect for intellectual property rights
  • Avoidance of plagiarism, fabricated content, or unverifiable claims

The journal reserves the right to investigate and take action in cases of misuse of AI tools, including rejection, retraction, or notification of institutions where appropriate.

6. Alignment with Ethical Standards

This policy is informed by international best practices, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics and major academic publishers.