AI & Automated Tools Policy

Scope and Principles of Use

AI includes systems capable of generating, analyzing, summarizing, classifying, recommending, or modifying content based on models or algorithms. Automated tools include technologies that perform technical or procedural functions automatically without replacing human scholarly judgment.

The use of AI and automated tools must comply with the following principles:

• transparency regarding uses that make a substantive contribution;
• protection of the confidentiality of manuscripts, data, and unpublished information;
• human verification of any output that is used;
• protection of the integrity of data, sources, citations, and scholarly argumentation;
• human oversight in evaluation and decision-making; and
• full responsibility of users for any output they use.

AI and automated tools are supporting instruments and do not replace the scholarly, professional, or editorial responsibility of the parties who use them.

Use by Authors

Authors may use AI and automated tools responsibly provided that such use does not compromise the originality, accuracy, integrity, or accountability of the manuscript. Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted for publication, including data, analyses, arguments, references, images, tables, and conclusions.

Authors must:

• verify the accuracy of any information or output generated or assisted by AI;
• ensure that references, citations, data, and factual statements actually exist and can be verified;
• ensure that the use of AI does not result in plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or the presentation of misleading information;
• protect personal data, confidential information, and materials subject to restrictions on their use;
• retain intellectual control over analyses, interpretations, and conclusions; and
• disclose the use of AI when it makes a substantive contribution to the research or preparation of the manuscript.

The use of tools for basic technical functions, such as spelling, grammar, formatting, or reference management, is not treated as a substantive AI contribution provided that such tools do not generate or alter the scholarly substance of the manuscript.

Disclosure of AI Use

The use of AI that makes a substantive contribution to the preparation, analysis, processing, interpretation, or presentation of scholarly material must be disclosed transparently. The disclosure must provide sufficient information about the tool used and the function it performed so that editors and readers can understand the role of AI in the process.

When AI is used as part of the research methodology, authors must describe its use proportionately in the methods section, including the function of AI in the research process and any procedures relevant to understanding or evaluating the results.

Disclosure of AI use does not transfer responsibility away from the authors. Authors remain responsible for the validity, accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted material.

Authorship and Scholarly Sources

AI systems, language models, software, or automated tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility, provide approval, disclose conflicts of interest, or be held accountable for the integrity of the work as required of an author.

AI-generated output also does not replace the scholarly sources underlying a statement. Authors must locate and cite original, verifiable sources. References, DOIs, regulations, judicial decisions, data, or other sources identified or suggested through AI must be checked against the actual source before being used in the manuscript.

Broader provisions concerning the designation of authors and recognition of contributions are governed under the Authorship & Contributorship policy.

Use by Reviewers

Reviewers remain fully responsible for the analyses, comments, and recommendations they submit. AI and automated tools must not be used to replace scholarly judgment or to delegate the substantive evaluation of a manuscript.

Reviewers must not:

• submit any unpublished manuscript text or other confidential material to an external AI service that may store, reuse, or provide access to it, regardless of the length of the excerpt;
• upload unpublished data, research findings, images, tables, documents, or confidential information to such a service;
• use AI to generate critical evaluations, editorial recommendations, or review decisions as a substitute for the reviewer's own assessment; or
• use AI-generated output without verification and without assuming full responsibility for its content.

Reviewers may use automated tools only for technical functions that do not disclose unpublished manuscript content or confidential material to an external service, generate substantive assessments, or replace scholarly judgment. The confidentiality restriction applies to any excerpt, regardless of length.

Use by Editors and the Journal

Editors must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and must not submit unpublished material to AI services in a manner that may allow access to, storage of, reuse of, or processing of such material beyond legitimate editorial purposes.

AI and automated tools may be used to support technical or administrative functions, but they must not independently determine editorial decisions. Outputs produced by automated systems must be reviewed and verified by humans before they are used as a basis for editorial action.

The journal's use of automated tools must remain subject to human oversight, including for functions such as:

• text similarity screening;
• technical or manuscript completeness checks;
• metadata management;
• support for reviewer identification or recommendation; and
• other administrative or editorial functions that do not replace human judgment.

Scores, classifications, recommendations, or alerts generated automatically are indicators requiring further examination and do not, by themselves, constitute grounds for acceptance, rejection, or a determination that an ethical violation has occurred.

Accountability and Handling Misuse

Any party using AI or automated tools remains responsible for the decisions, actions, and materials generated or submitted through the publication process. The use of AI cannot be invoked to transfer responsibility for factual errors, invalid references, breaches of confidentiality, inaccurate data, or other integrity concerns.

Undisclosed AI use when disclosure is required, misuse of confidential material, AI-assisted fabrication or falsification, manipulation of images or data, fabricated references, manipulation of the peer review process, or other uses that compromise publication integrity may be examined as ethical concerns under the Publication Ethics & Malpractice policy.

When such concerns are identified after publication and affect the accuracy or integrity of the scholarly record, the journal takes appropriate editorial action in accordance with the Corrections, Retractions, & Withdrawals policy.