This policy sets out the ethical use and disclosure of Generative AI (GenAI) in the submission, review, and editorial processes, in alignment with COPE principles.

Principles and Standards:

• Ethical use: GenAI may assist in limited aspects (e.g., language editing) but must not replace human intellectual contribution or create fabricated content.
• Transparency: authors must disclose the use of such tools, specifying the tool and the purpose.
• Authorship and accountability: AI tools cannot be credited as authors; authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance.
• Peer-review integrity: reviewers must disclose any use of such tools, which cannot replace critical analysis and professional judgement.

Acceptable Uses:

• Language refinement; data representation with clear source attribution and verification; and idea generation without contributing original hypotheses or conclusions.

Prohibited Uses:

• Fabrication of data, references, or conclusions; plagiarism; or misrepresenting AI-generated content as original intellectual contribution.

Disclosure Statement (example):

"Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, were used for language editing and improving the clarity of the manuscript. All intellectual content, research design, and data analysis were conducted solely by the authors."

Editors evaluate disclosed use; manuscripts suspected of undisclosed AI-generated content may undergo further scrutiny. Violations may result in rejection, post-publication retraction, and notification of relevant stakeholders, consistent with COPE misconduct policies.