Generative AI Policy

Authors

A generative AI tool cannot be listed as an author of a manuscript submitted to the journal, and cannot be used in place of the authors' own scientific work. Only the limited uses below are permitted, and all of them remain under the full responsibility of the authors.

• Authorship is human. Generative AI tools do not satisfy the authorship criteria applied by the journal, because authorship requires accountability and consent that only a person can give. A generative AI tool must not be listed as an author, and use of such a tool does not qualify any contributor for authorship.
• Language editing, with disclosure. The use of a generative AI tool to improve the language, grammar, or readability of a manuscript is acceptable where the authors disclose it in the manuscript. The disclosure must state the name and version of the tool and the purpose for which it was used.
• Full author responsibility. Whatever tools are used in preparing a manuscript, the authors are fully responsible for its entire content, including any part produced with the assistance of a generative AI tool. Responsibility for a published work cannot be attributed to a tool.

Reviewers

Peer review is carried out in confidence. Manuscripts received for review contain unpublished work and information the authors have shared in trust, and that confidentiality must not be broken by uploading a manuscript, or any part of it, to a generative AI tool.

Review reports are the reviewer's own assessment. A report drafted by a generative AI tool is not the reviewer's judgement, and reviewers should not delegate the preparation of their report to such a tool.

Editors

Editorial decisions are made by humans. Decisions to send a manuscript for peer review, to request revision, to reject, or to accept rest with the editorial office, and generative AI tools are not used to assess manuscripts or to determine outcomes.

Submission materials are confidential. The editorial office does not upload manuscripts or related correspondence to third-party generative AI services.

Undisclosed Use

Use of a generative AI tool that is not disclosed as required by this policy is treated as a breach of publication ethics and handled as misconduct under the guidelines of COPE. Cases are investigated under the procedures set out in the journal's Publication Ethics policy and its Plagiarism Policy, and may result in the rejection of a manuscript, the retraction of a published article, and notification of the authors' institution.

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