Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) Journals recognize the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research and publishing processes. While these technologies offer substantial benefits, they also introduce critical ethical, authorial, and procedural considerations.
Accordingly, UQU Journals have established the following policy, guided by the general directives issued by the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the use of AI tools in scholarly publishing. This policy ensures that human accountability and academic integrity remain at the core of scholarly authorship and peer review.
AI Authorship and Accountability
Artificial intelligence tools (including ChatGPT, GPT-4, Google Bard, Claude, and other Large Language Models) cannot be listed as authors on any submission to UQU Journals.
AI tools do not meet the authorship criteria set forth in the authorship guidelines of UQU Journals, as they:
Cannot assume legal responsibility for the published content.
Lack the capacity for critical thinking and accountability.
Cannot approve final versions or authorize publication.
Only human authors who meet the established authorship criteria may be credited, and any utilization of AI in the generation of scholarly content must be explicitly disclosed.
Disclosure of AI Usage by Authors
Authors must transparently disclose the use of AI tools and detail how they were utilized in the preparation of the manuscript.
This includes:
Text generation or editorial refinement.
Data analysis.
Image or figure creation.
Software programming or coding assistance via AI tools.
The extent of AI involvement must be clearly described in the Methods section or the Acknowledgments. Authors bear full and sole responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of any content generated or revised with the assistance of AI tools.
Sample Disclosure Statement:
"Portions of this manuscript were drafted or edited with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI), based on content provided by the authors. The final manuscript was reviewed and approved by all authors."
Use of AI in Generating Images and Visual Designs
The use of generative AI to produce visual content (such as charts, diagrams, or illustrations) is strictly prohibited, except under the following conditions:
The image is derived from author-generated data or sound scientific concepts.
The use of AI in generating the image is explicitly declared.
The visual content has been thoroughly reviewed, validated, and verified by human authors.
AI-generated images must not distort, simulate, or falsify empirical research findings. Any inclusion of AI-generated imagery must be accompanied by an exhaustive caption detailing how the image was generated and verified.
Sample Disclosure Statement:
"Figure 3 was generated using DALL·E 2 (OpenAI) based on author-supplied prompts and was subsequently reviewed and verified for accuracy by the authors."
Use of AI by Peer Reviewers
Peer reviewers must refrain from using AI tools to generate, summarize, or draft confidential peer review reports.
Inputting manuscript content into AI models violates confidentiality agreements and may result in permanent removal from the journal’s reviewer database. Reviewers are entrusted to evaluate submissions using their independent expert judgment and critical acumen, without delegating the review process to AI systems.
Reviewers must strictly avoid:
Uploading confidential research manuscripts into third-party AI platforms.
Using AI to paraphrase or summarize submitted manuscripts.
Using AI to generate peer review commentary and evaluations.
UQU Journals reserve the right to take appropriate disciplinary measures upon detecting any such practices, including reporting academic misconduct to the reviewer’s affiliated institutions.
Editorial and Ethical Oversight
The editorial team of UQU Journals may employ internal AI-assisted tools for technical tasks such as assessing language proficiency and conducting similarity checks (e.g., via iThenticate). However, these tools will never serve as a substitute for human judgment in editorial evaluations or manuscript acceptance decisions.
The journals will continue to closely monitor advancements in AI technologies and adapt their policies accordingly, ensuring that academic integrity, transparency, and accountability remain paramount throughout the scholarly publishing process.