Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

1. Purpose

The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Knowledge (IJIK) recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI), including generative AI tools, can support researchers, authors, reviewers, and editors in academic work. However, the use of AI must not compromise research integrity, originality, transparency, confidentiality, authorship, or the reliability of scholarly publications.

This policy establishes the principles governing the responsible use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation, peer review, research, editing, and publication.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

·  Authors and co-authors

·  Peer reviewers

·  Editors and editorial board members

·  Guest editors

·  Researchers submitting manuscripts to IJIK

·  Anyone involved in the preparation, evaluation, or publication of articles

3. Permitted Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for limited and appropriate purposes, including:

·  Improving grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language clarity

·  Improving sentence structure and readability

·  Translating text, where appropriate

·  Generating ideas or organizing research concepts

·  Assisting with formatting or manuscript organization

·  Supporting coding or data-analysis procedures, provided that the author verifies the output

·  Assisting with literature-search strategies or identifying potential research topics

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and content of their manuscripts.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI when AI has made a substantive contribution to the preparation of a manuscript.

The disclosure should identify:

1.     The name of the AI tool or system used;

2.     The purpose for which it was used;

3.     The stage of manuscript preparation in which it was used; and

4.     Where appropriate, the extent of its contribution.

A disclosure statement may be included in the Acknowledgements or another appropriate section of the manuscript.

Example:

AI Use Disclosure: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of AI tool] for language editing and improvement of readability. The authors reviewed and verified all AI-assisted content and remain fully responsible for the final manuscript and its conclusions.

Routine spelling and grammar checking does not normally require a separate disclosure unless the AI tool generated or substantially rewrote scholarly content.

5. AI Cannot Be an Author

AI systems, including generative AI tools, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of articles published by IJIK.

Authorship requires human responsibility for the work, including responsibility for the research, interpretation, accuracy, integrity, and final approval of the manuscript. AI tools cannot accept responsibility for these matters.

Any AI-generated contribution must therefore remain under the responsibility of the human author(s).

6. Authors' Responsibility

Authors are responsible for carefully reviewing and verifying all AI-assisted content before submission.

Authors must ensure that:

·  AI-generated information is accurate;

·  References and citations are genuine and correctly represented;

·  No fabricated sources or quotations are included;

·  Data have not been invented, altered, or misrepresented;

·  The manuscript does not contain plagiarism or unattributed copied material;

·  Confidential or sensitive information has not been improperly disclosed to an AI system;

·  The final manuscript accurately represents the authors' research and conclusions.

AI-generated text must not be treated as automatically reliable or authoritative.

7. Fabricated References and Information

Authors must not submit fabricated, inaccurate, or unverifiable information produced by AI tools.

AI systems can sometimes generate incorrect citations, references, quotations, statistics, or factual statements. Authors are responsible for independently checking all such information before submission.

The inclusion of fabricated references or false information may be treated as a research-integrity issue and may result in rejection, correction, or other editorial action.

8. AI and Originality

The use of AI does not transfer responsibility for originality from the author to the AI system.

Authors must ensure that their manuscript complies with IJIK's plagiarism and originality requirements. AI-generated or AI-assisted text must not be used to disguise plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unauthorized reproduction of another person's work.

Where AI is used to substantially generate text, images, tables, code, or other material, authors should ensure that the use is ethically and legally appropriate and properly disclosed where required.

9. AI-Generated Images, Figures, Tables, and Data

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI in creating or substantially modifying images, figures, tables, datasets, or other research materials where such use could affect the interpretation or reproducibility of the research.

AI must not be used to fabricate, manipulate, or falsify research data, experimental results, images, figures, or evidence.

Any use of AI for research data analysis must be appropriately described in the methodology when it materially affects the research process.

10. Confidentiality

Authors, reviewers, and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, unpublished research data, personal information, reviewer reports, or other confidential material to publicly accessible AI systems unless appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards are in place.

Confidential peer-review material must be protected and must not be disclosed to AI tools in a manner that could compromise the confidentiality of the review process.

11. AI Use by Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts received for review.

Reviewers should not upload unpublished manuscripts, manuscript content, figures, tables, datasets, or confidential editorial communications to generative AI tools when doing so could disclose confidential information.

AI tools may assist reviewers with limited tasks where appropriate, but reviewers remain responsible for the originality, fairness, confidentiality, and quality of their review.

AI tools must not replace the reviewer's independent scholarly judgment.

12. AI Use by Editors

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies for appropriate administrative or editorial purposes, provided that confidentiality, privacy, research integrity, and editorial independence are maintained.

AI must not independently determine:

·  Whether a manuscript should be accepted or rejected;

·  Whether a reviewer is suitable;

·  Whether research misconduct has occurred; or

·  The final editorial decision.

Final editorial decisions remain the responsibility of qualified human editors.

13. Peer Review and Editorial Independence

IJIK does not consider AI-generated recommendations to be a substitute for qualified human editorial judgment.

Editors and reviewers must assess manuscripts based on scholarly quality, methodological soundness, originality, relevance, ethical standards, and other applicable journal criteria.

The use of AI must not introduce discrimination, bias, or unfair treatment of authors or manuscripts.

14. Ethical and Legal Compliance

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted work complies with:

·  Applicable copyright requirements;

·  Intellectual-property rights;

·  Privacy and data-protection requirements;

·  Research ethics requirements;

·  Informed-consent requirements, where applicable;

·  IJIK's plagiarism and publication-ethics policies.

Authors should not assume that AI-generated material is free from copyright or other legal restrictions.

15. Undisclosed or Misleading AI Use

Failure to disclose substantive AI assistance, particularly where disclosure is necessary to understand how the manuscript was produced, may be considered during editorial assessment.

If inappropriate AI use is identified after publication, IJIK may take appropriate action, including requesting clarification, publishing a correction, issuing an Expression of Concern, or retracting the article where the integrity of the published record is seriously affected.

16. AI and Authorship Declaration

All authors must approve the final manuscript before submission and accept responsibility for its content.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that any relevant use of AI has been appropriately disclosed and that all authors are aware of the disclosure.

17. Transparency

IJIK encourages authors to be transparent about substantive AI assistance. Transparency enables readers, editors, and reviewers to understand the role of AI in the preparation or production of scholarly work.

The journal may request additional information regarding AI use when necessary to assess research integrity, reproducibility, or compliance with this policy.

18. Policy Updates

IJIK may periodically update this policy as AI technologies, scholarly publishing standards, ethical guidance, copyright requirements, and research practices develop.

Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with the version of the policy applicable at the time of submission, review, or publication.

19. Final Responsibility

The use of AI is permitted only as an assistive tool and does not transfer scholarly responsibility from humans to AI.

Authors, reviewers, and editors remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, confidentiality, originality, and ethical standards of their work and decisions.

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Knowledge (IJIK) is committed to responsible, transparent, and ethical use of AI while protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.