Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Based on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, Section V: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Publishing (updated January 2026).

This journal follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), including large language models (LLMs), chatbots, and image-generation tools, in scholarly publishing.

For Authors

Authors must disclose at submission whether AI-assisted technologies were used in producing the submitted work. Where AI was used, the nature and extent of that use should be described both in the cover letter and, where applicable, in the relevant section of the manuscript.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Because authorship carries responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and because an AI tool cannot assume that responsibility, accountability for any submitted material that involved AI rests entirely with the human authors.

Authors are expected to:

• Carefully review and edit any AI-generated content, since such output may be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased.
• Ensure the manuscript is free of plagiarism, including in any text or images produced with AI.
• Provide appropriate attribution and full citations for all quoted material. AI-generated material must not be cited as a primary source.

Failure to disclose AI use may require corrective action and, in some circumstances, may be treated as misconduct.

Source: ICMJE — Use of AI by Authors

For Reviewers

Reviewers must follow this journal’s stated AI policy and seek the editor’s permission before using any AI tool to assist their review. Because manuscripts under review are privileged, confidential communications, reviewers must not upload a manuscript to any AI tool or software where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, unless the journal explicitly permits it. Reviewers who use AI must disclose this to the journal and remain responsible for verifying that the content of their review is accurate and appropriate.

Source: ICMJE — Use of AI by Reviewers

For Editors

Editors should ask authors to disclose whether and how AI or LLMs were used and should remain alert to undisclosed use. Routine language assistance, such as spelling and grammar correction, is generally acceptable; the use of AI for content generation must be judged in the context of the specific work. In all cases, authors remain responsible for checking the accuracy and validity of their content before submission.

Editors and reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts into AI systems where confidentiality cannot be assured without the author’s explicit permission. Where the journal itself uses AI for copy-editing, production, or ancillary content (for example, summaries, educational material, or audio), this will be disclosed, and editors remain responsible for the accuracy and validity of such content.

Source: ICMJE — Editors’ Role in Ensuring Responsible Use of AI