Artificial Intelligence Policy

The journal acknowledges that tools based on artificial intelligence, including generative AI and large language models, are becoming increasingly integrated into research and scholarly publishing. To preserve academic integrity, transparency, and confidence in the scientific record, every participant involved in the publication process must adhere to the following principles governing the ethical and responsible use of AI and automated technologies.

The implementation of AI does not substitute human accountability. Authors, reviewers, and editors continue to bear full responsibility for the content, assessments, and decisions associated with the publication process.

For Authors

Authors are permitted to employ AI-assisted tools for restricted and appropriate purposes, including language refinement, grammatical correction, formatting improvements, and enhancement of readability. Any application of AI that extends beyond basic linguistic or editorial support must be clearly declared within the manuscript, either in the Acknowledgements section or in a specific disclosure statement.

Authors retain complete responsibility for confirming the accuracy, originality, completeness, and integrity of any material produced or supported through AI technologies. The use of AI does not exempt authors from accountability for inaccuracies, omissions, misleading information, fabricated material, or improper citations.

Generative AI applications do not fulfill the requirements for authorship and therefore must not be identified as authors or co-authors. Since AI systems cannot assume responsibility for scholarly work, they cannot be recognized as contributors of intellectual authorship.

Content produced through AI must not contain fabricated references, datasets, images, or research findings. Authors are responsible for ensuring that every cited source is authentic, verifiable, and correctly referenced. AI systems must not be referenced as primary sources of information.

Whenever AI is employed for data analysis, image generation, data simulation, or figure preparation, its use must be explicitly described in the Methods section, when applicable, with enough detail to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Any ethical, legal, or copyright issues arising from the use of these technologies remain entirely the responsibility of the authors.

Failure to disclose the use of AI technologies, or any inappropriate use of AI that undermines scientific integrity, may constitute a violation of publication ethics and may lead to manuscript rejection, correction, or retraction.

For Peer Reviewers and Editors

Peer reviewers and editors must not rely on generative AI systems to write, draft, or substantially produce peer review reports, editorial evaluations, or publication decisions. This limitation is essential to preserve manuscript confidentiality, prevent unauthorized processing of confidential information, and avoid superficial, biased, or fabricated assessments.

Reviewers and editors may use AI tools only for limited editorial support, such as minor language revision of their own comments, provided that confidential manuscript content is not uploaded to external platforms and that any relevant use is disclosed to the editorial office.

Editorial decisions must always rely on informed human academic judgment, supported by professional expertise, ethical responsibility, and critical assessment. AI technologies must never replace or automate editorial accountability.

Journal Use of Automated Tools

The journal may utilize automated technologies for administrative tasks and research integrity purposes, including plagiarism detection, text similarity assessment, reference verification, and image screening. All automated systems operate under human oversight, and every output is reviewed and interpreted by qualified members of the editorial team.

Automated technologies are intended to support, rather than replace, editorial judgment. Any concerns detected through automated evaluations are assessed individually, and authors are provided with the opportunity to respond whenever appropriate.

Alignment with Elsevier Policies

This policy is consistent with Elsevier’s guidelines regarding the use of artificial intelligence and generative AI in scholarly publishing, particularly with respect to transparency, human accountability, authorship integrity, and responsible disclosure.

For additional information, consult Elsevier’s official policy on artificial intelligence and generative AI:

https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals