POLICY ON THE USE OF GENAI

GEE recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies can support various aspects of scholarly work. This policy establishes principles for the ethical, transparent, and responsible use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the preparation and publication of manuscripts in GEE.

The policy is intended to safeguard academic integrity, research transparency, author accountability, confidentiality, and the reliability of the scholarly record.

1. Authorship and Accountability

AI Cannot Be an Author

AI tools and AI-assisted technologies, including Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to GEE. AI systems cannot assume responsibility for the content, integrity, originality, or ethical conduct of a research publication.

Authors' Full Responsibility

Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the entire content of their manuscripts, including any content that has been generated, edited, translated, summarized, or enhanced using AI tools.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy and reliability of all information produced or assisted by AI, including statements, citations, references, data, analyses, tables, and figures.

Human Oversight

The use of AI must remain under meaningful human supervision. Authors must critically evaluate, verify, edit, and, where necessary, revise AI-assisted content before submitting their manuscripts to GEE.

AI assistance must not replace the authors' intellectual contribution, scholarly judgment, or responsibility for the research.

2. Transparency and Disclosure

Mandatory Disclosure

Authors must transparently disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies when such tools have been used in the preparation of a manuscript.

The disclosure should be sufficiently clear to enable readers, editors, and reviewers to understand the role of AI in the research and manuscript preparation process.

Information to Be Disclosed

The disclosure should identify:

  • AI tool or technology used, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, or other AI-assisted tools;

  • Purpose of use, such as language editing, grammar checking, translation, brainstorming, literature summarization, data analysis assistance, coding assistance, or image generation;

  • Extent and role of AI assistance, including which parts of the manuscript or research process were supported by the technology; and

  • Human verification, particularly for factual information, references, data, analysis, and other research-related content.

Where to Disclose

Depending on the nature of the AI use, disclosure should be provided in an appropriate section of the manuscript, such as:

  • Acknowledgements, when AI is used primarily for language improvement or general writing assistance;

  • Methods, when AI is used in data analysis, coding, data processing, or other methodological procedures; or

  • A dedicated Declaration of AI Use statement, preferably placed before the References section.

Example of Disclosure

Declaration of AI Use: Portions of this manuscript were prepared with assistance from [Name of AI Tool]. The tool was used for [specific purpose, e.g., language refinement and grammar improvement]. All AI-assisted content was critically reviewed, edited, and verified by the authors. The authors take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and final content of the manuscript.

For AI-assisted image generation:

Declaration of AI Use: Figure X was generated with assistance from [Name of AI Tool]. The authors provided the instructions/prompts and reviewed and edited the generated output to ensure its accuracy, relevance, and compliance with ethical and publication standards.

3. Permitted Uses of AI

AI and AI-assisted technologies may be used to support scholarly work when their use is appropriate, transparent, and subject to human verification.

Permitted uses include:

Language and Grammar Refinement

AI may be used to improve grammar, spelling, sentence structure, readability, and language clarity.

Writing and Drafting Assistance

AI may assist with preliminary drafting or restructuring of non-research-critical text. Authors must substantially review and revise such content and remain responsible for the final manuscript.

Brainstorming and Idea Development

AI may be used to support brainstorming, generate preliminary ideas, or assist in organizing the structure of a manuscript. The authors must independently evaluate and develop the resulting ideas.

Data Analysis and Visualization Assistance

AI may be used to assist with data processing, statistical analysis, coding, or visualization only when the procedures are independently verified by the authors and are reproducible.

When AI contributes to methodological procedures, the relevant AI tool, procedure, and verification process should be appropriately reported in the Methods section.

Literature Summarization

AI may assist in summarizing published literature. However, authors must consult and verify the original sources and provide appropriate citations. Authors remain responsible for ensuring that summaries accurately represent the cited literature.

4. Prohibited Uses of AI

The following uses of AI and AI-assisted technologies are prohibited in manuscripts submitted to or published by GEE:

Fabrication and Falsification

AI must not be used to generate, fabricate, manipulate, or falsify research data, research results, participants, experimental outcomes, or other scientific evidence.

Fabricated References and Citations

Authors must not submit fictitious, inaccurate, or unverifiable references or citations generated by AI. All references must be checked against the original sources.

Plagiarism and Misappropriation

AI-generated or AI-assisted content must not be presented in a manner that misrepresents the intellectual contribution of others as the authors' own work. Authors must comply with applicable copyright, attribution, and academic integrity requirements.

Replacement of Human Intellectual Contribution

AI must not replace the core intellectual contribution of the authors, including the formulation of research questions or hypotheses, research design, interpretation of original findings, and scholarly conclusions.

Breach of Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential manuscript content, reviewer reports, or other unpublished materials to publicly accessible AI tools or systems that may compromise confidentiality, copyright, or the integrity of the peer-review process.

Misrepresentation of Research

AI must not be used to intentionally mislead readers, editors, reviewers, or other stakeholders regarding the research methods, data, results, authorship, or conclusions.

5. AI Use by Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers of GEE must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and peer-review materials.

Editors and reviewers should not use publicly accessible AI tools to process, summarize, evaluate, or generate reviews of confidential manuscript content unless the use is explicitly permitted by the journal and appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards are in place.

The final editorial and peer-review decisions must remain the responsibility of human editors and reviewers.

6. Verification and Research Integrity

Authors are responsible for carefully verifying all AI-assisted content before submission. Particular attention must be given to:

  • factual accuracy;

  • mathematical and statistical correctness;

  • citations and references;

  • research data and results;

  • interpretation of findings;

  • copyright and intellectual property;

  • confidentiality; and

  • compliance with research ethics.

The use of AI does not reduce or transfer the authors' responsibility for the integrity of their work.

7. Consequences of Misuse

Failure to comply with this policy may be considered a breach of publication ethics.

Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, GEE may take appropriate action, including:

  • rejection of a submitted manuscript;

  • correction or withdrawal of published content;

  • retraction of a published article;

  • restriction or suspension of future submissions;

  • notification of the authors' affiliated institution or relevant authorities; and

  • other actions considered appropriate under the journal's publication ethics policies.

8. Policy Review

This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated by GEE to reflect developments in AI technology, research practices, ethical standards, copyright requirements, and international guidelines for scholarly publishing.

The journal reserves the right to revise this policy when necessary to maintain academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and the quality of the scholarly record.

GEE encourages authors, editors, and reviewers to use AI responsibly, transparently, and ethically while ensuring that human expertise, judgment, accountability, and scholarly integrity remain central to the publication process.