01

Principle

Jurnal Civics allows AI tools that help researchers work efficiently, but they cannot replace human critical thinking, expertise, or evaluation. Human oversight is required, and authors remain accountable for their work. The policy follows the COPE position on authorship and AI tools.

AI tools cannot be authors. Any use of generative AI in a manuscript is disclosed. Manuscripts and review reports are never uploaded to AI tools by reviewers or editors.

02

Authors

Responsibilities

—  Verify AI output for accuracy, completeness, and impartiality, including whether AI-generated references exist.

—  Edit AI-assisted material so that it reflects your own analysis and argument.

—  Disclose the use of AI tools, as set out in section 03.

—  Check each tool’s terms for data privacy and intellectual property before use.

Responsible use

—  Do not enter personal data, confidential data, or unpublished work of others into a tool without a lawful basis and a safe set of terms.

—  Check outputs for factual errors and bias.

—  Do not use AI to generate images that copy copyrighted works, real people, or identifiable brands, or to imitate a person’s voice.

—  Use only tools whose terms allow inputs to be used only to provide the service, do not allow training on them, and do not restrict publication of the outputs.

03

Disclosure

—  Submit a separate AI declaration with the manuscript. It is published with the article in a separate section before the references.

—  State the name of the tool, the purpose, and the extent of human oversight.

—  Basic checks of grammar, spelling, and punctuation need no declaration.

—  AI used in the research process, for example to collect or analyse data, is described in detail in the methods section.

—  The Author Declaration Form includes a statement on AI use.

Example: “The authors used [tool name, version] to [purpose] during [stage]. They reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content of the article.”

04

Authorship

—  AI tools cannot be an author or co-author, and cannot be cited as an author. They cannot take responsibility for the work, declare conflicts of interest, or manage copyright and licensing agreements.

—  Human authors approve the final version, ensure the work is original and unpublished, and make sure it does not infringe the rights of others.

—  See Authorship Criteria.

05

Figures and artwork

—  Generative AI is not used to create or alter images. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or colour are allowed if no information is lost. Forensic tools may be used to check images.

—  Exception: AI as part of the research design or method. Describe it so that it can be reproduced, with the name, version, and manufacturer of the model or tool. Editors may ask for the raw or pre-AI images.

—  Generative AI is not used for artwork such as graphical abstracts.

—  Cover art may be allowed with the prior permission of the editor and publisher, cleared rights, and proper attribution.

06

Reviewers

—  Manuscripts and review reports are confidential. Do not upload either into an AI tool, even to improve the language.

—  Do not use AI to assist the scientific review. Reviewers remain fully accountable for their reports.

—  See the Peer Review Process.

07

Editors

—  Submitted manuscripts and all related correspondence, including decision letters, are confidential and are not uploaded to AI tools, even for language editing.

—  Do not use AI to evaluate manuscripts or make decisions. Editors are responsible for the process, the final decision, and its communication.

—  Author AI disclosures are published in a separate section before the references.

08

Suspected violations

Suspected undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI by authors, reviewers, or editors is reported to the Editor-in-Chief. It is handled under the Research Misconduct policy, which covers undisclosed AI use, AI-generated data, and fabricated references.

09

Related

Publication Ethics  ·  Research Misconduct  ·  Plagiarism Policy  ·  Author Guidelines

Source: COPE position: Authorship and AI tools