Generative AI Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is significantly changing approaches to scientific research, offering new opportunities to enhance research, material preparation, and publishing processes. It is important to remember that, although AI is a powerful tool, it has limitations, and its use should be clearly regulated to maintain high ethical and scientific standards.

This policy has been developed with consideration of international norms and recommendations regarding the use of AI in scientific publications, such as COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and WAME (World Association of Medical Editors).

KEY PRINCIPLES OF AI USE

1. AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement

AI should be used as an auxiliary tool in the research and publishing process, but not as a substitute for key scientific stages, such as research, hypothesis formulation, and result analysis. Here are some areas where AI can be useful:

• Data Analysis: automating the processing of large volumes of scientific data.
• Literature Search and Organisation: using AI for faster searching and sorting of scientific articles.
• Plagiarism Detection: Applying AI tools to detect potential plagiarism or improper use of sources.

2. Transparency in AI Use

The journal requires that the use of AI be clearly declared:

• Declaration of AI Use: If AI has been used at any stage of the article preparation (from drafting to data analysis), authors must indicate this in the accompanying materials or appropriate sections of the article, such as "Materials and Methods" or "Acknowledgements."

3. Prohibition of Manipulating Results

AI should not be used to manipulate research results or simplify complex scientific tasks to the level of mechanical execution. AI models can assist in generating preliminary analysis, but the final decision on the accuracy of the results should be made by humans.

Responsibility of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors

Authors are required to confirm that the AI tools used do not infringe copyright or lead to manipulation of scientific results. They must verify the accuracy and reliability of the results, even if AI tools assisted in the creation of the materials.

Reviewers and editors should assess materials while considering potential AI use in the article but maintain a critical approach to the scientific content. Reviewers are encouraged to use AI only to assist in improving the language of the review, not for formulating scientific conclusions.

As editors, we must actively monitor that AI use does not affect the objectivity of scientific evaluation or violate ethical standards.

4. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Data Protection

Any AI tool used for processing scientific data must comply with data protection and confidentiality requirements. All data transmitted via external platforms or AI tools must be protected from unauthorised access.

Intellectual Property

The use of AI should not violate intellectual property rights. If AI tools have helped create scientific content, authors must have a clear understanding of who holds the rights to the result and ensure that this does not lead to violations of copyright.