Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) Journals recognize the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research and publishing workflows. While these technologies offer substantial benefits, they also introduce critical ethical, authorial, and procedural considerations.
Accordingly, Umm Al-Qura University Journals have established the following policy in alignment with the overarching guidelines 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 central to scholarly authorship and the peer-review process.
AI Authorship and Accountability
AI tools (including ChatGPT, GPT-4, Google Bard, Claude, and other Large Language Models [LLMs]) cannot be credited as authors on any manuscript submitted to Umm Al-Qura University Journals.
Artificial intelligence does not fulfill the authorship criteria stipulated in the authorship principles of Umm Al-Qura University Journals, as it:
Cannot assume legal or public accountability for the published work.
Lacks the capacity for critical thinking, ethical discernment, and academic accountability.
Cannot approve final proofs or authorize publication agreements.
Only human authors who meet the established authorship criteria may be listed. Furthermore, any use of AI tools in the development of the manuscript’s content must be transparently disclosed.
Disclosure of AI Usage by Authors
Authors must fully disclose whether and how AI tools were employed in preparing the manuscript.
This encompasses:
Text generation, drafting, or language editing.
Data analysis and processing.
Creation or enhancement of images, graphs, or figures.
Coding and software development assistance via AI utilities.
The specific utilization of AI must be clearly described in the Methodology section or the Acknowledgments. Authors remain solely and fully accountable for the integrity, accuracy, validity, and originality of all content generated, modified, or assisted by AI tools.
Sample Disclosure Statement:
"Portions of the text were drafted or edited with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI), based on concepts and initial materials provided by the authors. The final manuscript was thoroughly reviewed, verified, and approved by all authors."
Use of AI in Image and Figure Generation
The use of AI tools to generate visual content (such as graphs, diagrams, or illustrations) is strictly prohibited, except under the following conditions:
The visual material is directly derived from author-generated data or sound scientific concepts.
The application of AI in generating the image is explicitly declared.
The visual content has been comprehensively reviewed and validated for scientific accuracy by the human authors.
AI-generated imagery must never distort, simulate, fabricate, or misrepresent research findings. When including permissible AI-generated visual content, authors must supply a comprehensive caption elucidating both the generation and verification methodologies.
Sample Disclosure Statement:
"Figure 3 was generated using DALL·E 2 (OpenAI) based on author-defined parameters and prompts, and subsequently reviewed and verified for scientific accuracy by the authors."
Use of AI by Peer Reviewers
Peer reviewers must not utilize AI tools to generate, summarize, or draft confidential peer-review reports.
Uploading unpublished manuscript content into AI platforms breaches reviewer confidentiality and may result in immediate dismissal from the journal’s reviewer pool. Reviewers are entrusted to assess submissions through their independent expert judgment and critical appraisal, without delegating any part of the evaluation process to AI systems.
Reviewers must strictly refrain from:
Inputting confidential manuscript content into third-party AI software or online tools.
Using AI utilities to rephrase, synthesize, or summarize submitted manuscripts.
Employing AI systems to generate peer-review comments or evaluation reports.
Umm Al-Qura University Journals reserve the right to initiate formal procedural action upon detecting any such violations, including reporting academic misconduct to the reviewer’s affiliated institution.
Editorial and Ethical Oversight
The editorial team of Umm Al-Qura University Journals may employ internal AI-assisted tools for standard operational workflows, such as linguistic quality screening and plagiarism detection (e.g., iThenticate). However, these technologies shall not serve as substitutes for expert human judgment in editorial decision-making or final acceptance determinations.
The journal will continuously monitor advancements in artificial intelligence and refine its policies accordingly to ensure that academic integrity, transparency, and accountability remain paramount throughout the scholarly publishing enterprise.