Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

1. Introduction

JIMIK-STMM acknowledges the increasing role of AI tools, including generative AI, in scholarly publishing. While these technologies can support authors in improving clarity, organization, and technical tasks, their use must uphold:

  • Academic integrity, originality, and human judgment,
  • Transparency and accountability,
  • Confidentiality in peer review,
  • Protection of privacy and intellectual property rights.

AI must never replace critical thinking or expert evaluation by human authors, reviewers, or editors.

2. Definition

For this policy, AI tools refer to digital systems that apply artificial intelligence techniques (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning) to generate, analyze, translate, summarize, or modify textual, numerical, visual, or audio data in academic contexts. Examples include:

  • Generative AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude),
  • Language and grammar tools (Grammarly, QuillBot),
  • AI-assisted data analysis, coding, and visualization tools,
  • AI-based literature discovery and citation tools.

3. Acceptable Use by Authors

  1. No disclosure required: basic language support such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, or minor readability improvements.
  2. Disclosure required: substantive rewriting, translation, data analysis, modeling, or literature mapping. Authors must verify all outputs.
  3. Prohibited uses: generating entire manuscripts, fabricating or falsifying data, producing unverifiable citations, plagiarizing, or infringing copyright.
  4. Figures and images: AI-generated or AI-modified images are not permitted unless explicitly part of the research methodology, which must be transparently documented.

4. Author Responsibilities

Authors remain fully accountable for all submitted content, including AI-assisted outputs. They must:

  • Verify accuracy and originality,
  • Avoid plagiarism, bias, or fabricated content,
  • Ensure proper citation and attribution,
  • Retain ownership of scholarly interpretation and judgment.

5. Authorship

AI tools cannot be credited as authors or co-authors. Authorship is reserved for humans who assume public responsibility for the work.

6. Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors must not upload confidential, sensitive, or personally identifiable information into AI tools unless legally justified and adequately protected.

7. Disclosure Requirements

When AI is used beyond basic proofreading, authors must disclose:

  • Tool name, version, and provider,
  • Purpose and scope of use,
  • Confirmation that outputs were reviewed and verified.

Disclosure may appear in:

  • Methods section (if related to data analysis or methodology),
  • Acknowledgements (if related to writing or translation),
  • Dedicated statement: “During manuscript preparation, the authors used [AI tool] for [purpose]. All outputs were critically reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the content.”

8. Reviewer Policy

Reviewers must not use AI tools to assess manuscripts or generate review reports. Peer review remains confidential and based on human judgment.

9. Editor and Staff Policy

Editors and editorial staff must not rely on AI tools for decision-making or handling confidential editorial materials. Responsibility for editorial processes rests solely with humans.

10. Oversight

Editors will evaluate AI disclosures as part of ethical review. Screening tools may be used, but compliance decisions will always involve human assessment.

11. Consequences of Misuse

Violations of this policy may result in:

  • Manuscript rejection,
  • Article retraction,
  • Notification to the author’s institution,
  • Future submission bans in severe or repeated cases.

12. Appeals

Authors may submit a formal appeal to the Editor-in-Chief if they disagree with editorial decisions related to AI usage. Appeals must include evidence and reference this policy.

13. Policy Updates

This policy will be periodically updated to reflect evolving AI technologies and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.