AI and Research Integrity

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation and Review

In response to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academic publishing, Pena Dimas has established a formal policy to uphold research integrity, transparency, confidentiality, and ethical authorship practices. Authors are permitted to use AI-assisted tools—such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or DeepL—exclusively for improving language quality, grammar, clarity, or style. However, AI tools must not replace the authors’ own scientific judgment, critical thinking, analysis, or interpretation. The use of AI tools to generate novel scientific content, fabricate or manipulate data, create unverifiable references, or produce unsupported scientific conclusions is strictly prohibited.

Any use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools must be explicitly disclosed in the manuscript under a separate section titled “Declaration of AI Use,” including the name of the AI tool(s), the specific purpose for which they were used, and, where relevant, how the authors reviewed or verified the resulting output. Basic spelling and grammar-checking tools that do not generate or substantially rewrite content do not need to be disclosed. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and content of their manuscripts, including any content produced with the assistance of AI.

AI tools cannot be credited as authors or co-authors, as they do not meet the criteria for authorship responsibility and accountability. Authors must also ensure that confidential, sensitive, personal, or unpublished information is not entered into AI systems without appropriate safeguards and authorization.

The journal prohibits the use of AI to generate or manipulate images, graphs, or figures unless AI-generated or AI-assisted content is a core component of the research methodology. In such cases, detailed documentation of the AI tool must be provided in the Methods section, including the name and version of the tool, its specific purpose, relevant parameters or technical details, and how the resulting output was evaluated or validated by the authors.

During the peer review process, reviewers are not permitted to use generative AI or AI-assisted tools to analyze, evaluate, assess, summarize, or prepare comments and recommendations on a manuscript. Reviewers must not upload, copy, or enter the manuscript, any part of the manuscript, supplementary files, review reports, or other confidential review-related information into any generative AI system due to concerns about confidentiality and data privacy. Peer review must be based on the reviewer’s own expertise and professional judgment, and reviewers remain fully responsible for the content and integrity of their reviews.

Editors may use AI-assisted tools only for limited administrative or technical purposes that do not involve confidential manuscript content. AI must not be used to assess the scientific quality of a manuscript, replace editorial judgment, or make decisions regarding acceptance or rejection. All scientific evaluation and editorial decisions must remain under human responsibility and oversight. Editors must not upload manuscripts, supplementary files, review reports, unpublished materials, or confidential editorial correspondence into generative AI systems. This restriction also applies to notification and decision letters, including their use solely for language improvement or readability.

The use of AI does not reduce or remove the responsibility of authors, reviewers, or editors for maintaining originality, accuracy, confidentiality, research integrity, and accountability.

Misuse of AI tools or failure to disclose relevant AI usage may lead to manuscript rejection, correction, article retraction, or other appropriate editorial action. Where necessary, the author’s institution may also be notified in accordance with the publication ethics policies of Pena Dimas.

This policy is aligned with responsible academic publishing practices and will be periodically updated to reflect advancements in AI technology and publication ethics. Pena Dimas remains committed to promoting ethical research practices and ensuring the quality, transparency, confidentiality, and integrity of the scholarly work published in the journal.

Declaration of AI Use

Authors who use generative AI or AI-assisted tools in manuscript preparation should include a statement such as:

Declaration of AI Use:
During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name and version of AI tool/service] for [specific purpose]. The author(s) reviewed and verified the resulting output and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the final manuscript.

If no generative AI or AI-assisted tools were used, authors may state:

Declaration of AI Use:
The author(s) declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.