GENERATIVE AI AND AI-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGIES POLICY

Utan Kayu Publishing recognizes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies are increasingly used in research, scholarly writing, data analysis, visualization, peer review support, and publishing workflows. When used responsibly, these technologies may improve efficiency, accessibility, organization, and scholarly communication. However, their use also presents risks related to accuracy, bias, confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, authorship, transparency, reproducibility, and research integrity.

This policy establishes publisher-wide requirements for the responsible use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in manuscripts submitted to, reviewed by, edited for, and published in journals under Utan Kayu Publishing.

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, journal staff, and other individuals involved in the publication process of journals published by Utan Kayu Publishing.

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1. Purpose and Principles

The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in scholarly publishing must be guided by transparency, accountability, confidentiality, human oversight, and protection of the integrity of the scientific record.

The following principles apply throughout the publication process:

1. Human responsibility and accountability must remain central to scholarly publishing.
2. AI must not replace human critical thinking, scientific reasoning, intellectual contribution, expertise, interpretation, or editorial judgment.
3. Substantive use of generative AI must be transparent and appropriately disclosed.
4. Research data, results, references, images, and other scientific evidence must not be fabricated, falsified, or misrepresented through AI.
5. Confidentiality, privacy, copyright, intellectual property, and other rights must be protected.
6. Only humans may qualify as authors, peer reviewers, and editorial decision-makers.
7. Authors, reviewers, and editors remain fully responsible for all work performed with AI assistance.

2. Definitions

2.1 Generative AI

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems capable of generating or substantially modifying text, images, audio, video, computer code, tables, figures, synthetic content, or other material.

Examples may include large language models, generative image systems, AI agents, deep-research tools, AI-powered coding assistants, and comparable technologies, including systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and other similar services.

2.2 AI-Assisted Technologies

AI-assisted technologies are tools or software that incorporate artificial intelligence to assist with activities such as writing, translation, literature searching, reference management, coding, data analysis, visualization, image analysis, or other scholarly activities.

2.3 Substantive AI Use

Substantive AI use occurs when an AI tool materially contributes to the content, structure, interpretation, analysis, translation, visualization, or presentation of scholarly work beyond basic spelling, grammar, punctuation, or routine technical assistance.

2.4 Publisher-Authorized AI Systems

A Publisher-Authorized AI System is an AI-assisted system that has been formally approved by Utan Kayu Publishing for a specified editorial or publishing purpose after appropriate assessment of confidentiality, privacy, data retention, security, intellectual property, and human oversight requirements.

The description of a commercial AI service as private, enterprise, secure, or confidential does not by itself constitute authorization by Utan Kayu Publishing.

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PART I — POLICY FOR AUTHORS

3. Responsible Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in a limited and supportive capacity, provided that appropriate human oversight and scholarly responsibility are maintained.

Appropriate uses may include:

• improving language, clarity, readability, and organization;
• assisting with the structure of a manuscript;
• summarizing literature as preparation for manuscript writing;
• assisting in identifying concepts, themes, or potential research gaps that are subsequently independently evaluated by the authors;
• brainstorming preliminary research ideas;
• checking manuscript completeness against journal guidelines or recognized reporting standards;
• assisting with translation;
• organizing literature and references;
• assisting with eligible computational or coding tasks;
• assisting with permitted explanatory figures or visualizations; and
• other comparable supportive activities that do not replace genuine scholarly contribution.

AI tools must not replace the authors' own scientific judgment, reasoning, interpretation, analysis, conclusions, or intellectual contribution.

Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for every part of the submitted and published article regardless of whether AI technologies were used.

4. Human Oversight and Verification

Any AI-generated or AI-assisted content incorporated into a manuscript must be critically evaluated and verified by the authors before submission.

Authors must verify, as applicable:

• factual accuracy;
• scientific validity;
• completeness;
• consistency with the underlying research data;
• accuracy of statistical or analytical statements;
• appropriateness of interpretation;
• absence of fabricated information;
• potential bias or misleading representation;
• accuracy and existence of references;
• appropriate attribution;
• copyright and intellectual-property compliance;
• confidentiality and privacy; and
• consistency with the authors' own analyses and conclusions.

AI-generated output must never be accepted uncritically merely because it appears fluent, authoritative, convincing, or technically sophisticated.

Authors must independently confirm that the final manuscript represents their authentic scholarly contribution.

5. Prohibited Uses

Authors must not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to:

• fabricate, invent, falsify, or manipulate research data;
• fabricate research participants, observations, survey responses, interviews, experiments, or clinical information;
• fabricate or alter research results;
• generate fictitious statistical findings;
• fabricate references, quotations, citations, DOIs, or bibliographic information;
• deliberately misrepresent AI-generated material as empirical evidence;
• replace genuine human scientific reasoning or intellectual contribution;
• conceal plagiarism or inappropriate textual reuse;
• create false research documentation;
• manipulate primary research images in ways prohibited by this policy;
• generate evidence for experiments or observations that did not occur;
• misrepresent synthetic data as real data without explicit methodological justification and disclosure; or
• use AI in any other manner that compromises research or publication integrity.

Serious misuse of generative AI may constitute research or publication misconduct.

6. AI and Authorship

Generative AI systems, large language models, chatbots, AI agents, or other AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

AI tools must also not be cited as authors.

Authorship involves responsibilities that can only be fulfilled by humans, including:

• accepting accountability for the work;
• approving the final manuscript;
• agreeing to submission and publication;
• responding to questions regarding accuracy and integrity;
• declaring conflicts of interest;
• granting publication rights; and
• taking responsibility for correcting the scientific record when necessary.

All named authors must satisfy the authorship criteria required by the relevant journal.

7. Disclosure of AI Use in Manuscript Preparation

7.1 When Disclosure Is Required

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation.

Disclosure is required when AI has been used for purposes such as:

• substantive language rewriting;
• restructuring paragraphs or manuscript sections;
• content organization;
• drafting assistance;
• substantive summarization of literature;
• AI-assisted translation;
• substantive improvement of readability;
• selection, collation, generation, summarization, or editing of references using generative AI;
• creation of permitted explanatory images; or
• other activities that materially affect manuscript content or presentation.

7.2 Uses That Normally Do Not Require Disclosure

Disclosure is normally not required for:

• basic spelling checking;
• basic grammar checking;
• punctuation checking;
• routine formatting;
• conventional word-processing functions;
• basic non-generative reference-management functions; or
• specialist assistive technologies used solely for accessibility purposes.

If an AI tool substantially changes sentence structure, meaning, organization, interpretation, or content, disclosure is required.

8. Required AI Declaration

Where disclosure is required, authors must include a separate section immediately before the References entitled:

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Manuscript Preparation Process

The following format is recommended:

During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] for [PURPOSE]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed, verified, and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and content of the published article.

Where relevant, authors should identify the specific AI tool, model, or version used.

The declaration may be included in the published article as part of the scholarly record.

Authors who did not use generative AI in a manner requiring disclosure do not need to include this statement unless specifically required by the relevant journal.

9. AI-Assisted Translation

Generative AI may be used to assist with translation of scholarly material.

Authors must ensure that:

• the translation is reviewed for accuracy and completeness;
• scientific terminology is appropriately translated;
• context and meaning are preserved;
• potential bias or distortion is evaluated;
• the translated text is preferably checked by a person competent in both languages and knowledgeable about the relevant scientific field;
• confidentiality and privacy requirements are respected; and
• substantive AI-assisted translation is disclosed.

Authors remain fully accountable for the accuracy of AI-assisted translations included in their manuscripts.

10. AI, Literature Searching, Citations, and References

Generative AI may assist with preliminary literature searching, organizing literature, suggesting potentially relevant sources, or managing references.

However, authors must independently verify every source before citing it.

Verification should include, where applicable:

• author names;
• publication title;
• journal or publisher;
• publication year;
• volume and issue;
• page range or article number;
• DOI or other persistent identifier;
• existence of the source; and
• whether the source actually supports the statement for which it is cited.

Authors must not cite references merely because they were suggested or generated by an AI system.

The inclusion of fabricated, nonexistent, seriously inaccurate, or misleading references may result in editorial action, including manuscript rejection.

Traditional reference-management functions provided by software such as Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, or comparable systems do not require AI disclosure when generative AI features are not used.

Where generative AI functionality is used to select, collate, generate, summarize, or substantially edit references or citations, such use must be disclosed.

11. AI Used as Part of Research Methods

Utan Kayu Publishing distinguishes between AI used to assist manuscript preparation and AI used as part of the research methodology.

Where AI is used as part of:

• study design;
• data collection;
• data extraction;
• coding;
• qualitative analysis;
• statistical analysis;
• data processing;
• predictive modelling;
• machine learning;
• image analysis;
• classification;
• natural-language processing;
• software or code development;
• systematic-review procedures;
• interpretation of research data; or
• other methodological procedures,

its use must be transparently described in the Methods section.

A general AI declaration alone is not sufficient when AI forms part of the research methodology.

The methodological description should include, as applicable:

• name of the AI model, software, or system;
• version or model release;
• developer or manufacturer;
• date or period of use where relevant;
• purpose of use;
• input data;
• preprocessing procedures;
• relevant prompts or instructions;
• analytical parameters;
• scripts or code;
• procedures for human oversight;
• validation procedures;
• quality-control procedures;
• procedures for identifying errors or bias; and
• methods used to verify AI-generated outputs.

The description must provide sufficient information for scientific evaluation and, where appropriate, reproducibility.

AI-assisted code is subject to the same requirements for validity, transparency, and reproducibility as code produced without AI assistance.

12. Documentation of AI Use

Authors should maintain appropriate documentation of substantive AI use during research and manuscript preparation.

Depending on the nature of the use, documentation may include:

• tool and model name;
• version;
• dates of use;
• relevant prompts;
• generated outputs;
• scripts;
• analytical code;
• AI-generated recommendations;
• records of author revisions;
• tracked changes;
• validation procedures; or
• other evidence of human oversight.

Routine submission of these records is not required unless requested.

However, editors or Utan Kayu Publishing may request relevant documentation where necessary to assess:

• research integrity;
• reproducibility;
• methodological transparency;
• authorship responsibility;
• suspected fabricated content; or
• compliance with this policy.

Failure to provide reasonable documentation when requested may affect editorial evaluation.

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PART II — FIGURES, IMAGES, AND ARTWORK

13. General Principles for AI-Assisted Images

AI-assisted visual material is governed according to its scientific function.

For the purposes of this policy, visual material is divided into:

1. explanatory images;
2. data visualizations;
3. primary research images; and
4. graphical abstracts and cover artwork.

Authors remain responsible for the scientific accuracy, originality, attribution, licensing, and integrity of all visual material.

14. Explanatory Images

Explanatory images illustrate concepts, processes, relationships, or research workflows rather than serving as primary research evidence.

Examples include:

• flowcharts;
• conceptual diagrams;
• schematic illustrations;
• decision trees;
• timelines; and
• experimental workflow diagrams.

Generative AI may assist in creating explanatory images provided that:

• the scientific content is verified by the authors;
• the figure accurately represents the authors' concepts or interpretation;
• no false scientific information is introduced;
• copyright and intellectual-property requirements are satisfied; and
• AI use is transparently disclosed.

AI use must be disclosed both:

1. in the general AI declaration; and
2. in the relevant figure caption.

The figure caption should identify the AI tool and briefly explain how it contributed to the figure.

Example:

Figure 1. Schematic overview of the study design. The initial diagram was generated with [TOOL/MODEL] and subsequently reviewed, corrected, and edited by the authors.

15. Data Visualizations

Data visualizations include:

• plots;
• graphs;
• charts;
• heatmaps; and
• similar visual representations derived from research data.

AI may assist in producing data visualizations only when the visualization is directly and faithfully derived from genuine underlying research data through reproducible analytical, computational, or statistical procedures.

AI must not:

• invent data;
• alter underlying data;
• fabricate statistical results;
• add nonexistent observations;
• conceal observations;
• change research findings; or
• generate figures that cannot be reproduced from the reported data and analytical procedures.

Where AI contributes to generating data visualizations, relevant information must be reported in the Methods section, including the tool or model, version where relevant, and analytical procedure.

16. Primary Research Images

Primary research images represent directly observed, measured, experimental, clinical, or empirical evidence.

Examples include:

• microscopy images;
• histological images;
• Western blots;
• electrophoresis gels;
• radiology images;
• medical scans;
• clinical photographs;
• patient images; and
• comparable records of primary research evidence.

Generative AI must not be used to create, reconstruct, add, remove, replace, or materially alter elements of primary research images.

AI-generated or AI-manipulated content must not be presented as genuine experimental or observational evidence.

Routine adjustments such as brightness, contrast, or color balance should be performed only using established image-processing software and must not obscure, eliminate, distort, or misrepresent information.

Where AI-assisted imaging itself forms part of the research methodology—for example, segmentation, reconstruction, image classification, diagnostic imaging, or predictive imaging—the procedure must be transparently and reproducibly described in the Methods section.

Editors may request original, unprocessed image files for editorial or research-integrity assessment.

17. Graphical Abstracts

General-purpose generative AI image systems must not be used to generate graphical abstracts.

Authors should instead use:

• dedicated scientific illustration platforms;
• professional graphic-design or vector software; or
• other tools with appropriate scientific and publication licensing.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all elements of a graphical abstract are:

• scientifically accurate;
• original or appropriately licensed;
• suitable for scholarly publication; and
• consistent with the findings reported in the article.

Where a dedicated scientific illustration platform uses substantive AI-assisted functionality, this use should be appropriately disclosed.

18. Journal Cover Artwork

AI-generated or substantially AI-assisted journal cover artwork may only be considered with prior approval from the Editor-in-Chief and Utan Kayu Publishing.

Authors must ensure that:

• all necessary rights and licenses are available;
• third-party copyrighted material is not improperly reproduced;
• individuals or identifiable persons are not inappropriately depicted;
• attribution requirements are satisfied; and
• the image does not misrepresent scientific findings.

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PART III — CONFIDENTIALITY, PRIVACY, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

19. Protection of Confidential and Protected Information

Before using an AI tool, authors must review the relevant terms and conditions concerning:

• privacy;
• data retention;
• model training;
• intellectual property;
• confidentiality;
• licensing; and
• rights to generated outputs.

Authors must not upload confidential, restricted, copyrighted, personally identifiable, or sensitive information to an AI system unless they have appropriate authorization and adequate safeguards are in place.

Particular care must be exercised with:

• patient information;
• clinical information;
• personal data;
• psychological assessment data;
• student or educational records;
• interview transcripts;
• unpublished research;
• proprietary datasets;
• commercially confidential information;
• culturally sensitive information;
• copyrighted third-party material; and
• other protected information.

Authors must ensure that use of an AI tool does not grant rights over manuscript content, unpublished research, or research data that would conflict with subsequent scholarly publication.

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PART IV — POLICY FOR PEER REVIEWERS

20. Use of AI in Peer Review

Peer review requires independent human scholarly judgment.

A manuscript submitted for peer review is a confidential and unpublished document.

Reviewers must not upload or disclose to an external generative AI system:

• the submitted manuscript;
• any part of the manuscript;
• tables;
• figures;
• supplementary material;
• unpublished data;
• author-identifying information;
• confidential editorial correspondence;
• other reviewers' reports; or
• information obtained solely through the peer-review process.

This prohibition applies even when a commercial service is described as private, enterprise, secure, or confidential, unless the specific system has been formally authorized by Utan Kayu Publishing for that purpose.

Reviewers remain solely responsible for:

• critical assessment;
• scientific reasoning;
• evaluation of methodology;
• evaluation of results;
• interpretation of findings;
• recommendations; and
• the content of the review report.

AI must not substitute for the reviewer's independent scientific evaluation.

Permitted Supportive Uses

AI may be used in a limited supportive capacity for:

• improving grammar in text independently written by the reviewer;
• improving readability or organization of the reviewer's own report; or
• assisting with general background literature searches,

provided that no confidential manuscript content or unpublished information is supplied to the AI system.

Reviewer Disclosure

Where substantive AI assistance is used to prepare a review report, the reviewer should disclose the tool and purpose of use.

Suggested statement:

During the preparation of this review report, I used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] for [PURPOSE]. No confidential manuscript content was submitted to the AI system. I subsequently reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the critical assessment and recommendations contained in this report.

Basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation checking does not require disclosure.

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PART V — POLICY FOR EDITORS AND EDITORIAL STAFF

21. Use of AI in Editorial Decision-Making

Editors and editorial staff must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.

Editors must not upload or disclose to an external generative AI system:

• manuscripts;
• manuscript sections;
• figures;
• supplementary materials;
• unpublished data;
• peer-review reports;
• confidential correspondence; or
• other information obtained through the editorial process.

This prohibition applies even where a commercial AI system describes itself as private or secure, unless the system has been formally authorized by Utan Kayu Publishing for the specific purpose.

AI must not replace an editor's:

• critical evaluation;
• scientific judgment;
• assessment of reviewer reports;
• evaluation of publication-ethics concerns;
• acceptance or rejection decision; or
• responsibility for editorial communication.

Final editorial decisions must always be made by human editors.

AI may be used supportively for activities that do not disclose confidential manuscript information, such as:

• improving the language or organization of independently prepared editorial correspondence;
• general background literature searching; or
• other non-decision-making activities permitted by the Publisher.

Editors remain fully responsible for all editorial decisions and communications.

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PART VI — USE OF AI BY UTAN KAYU PUBLISHING

22. Publisher Use of AI-Assisted Technologies

Utan Kayu Publishing may use appropriately evaluated AI-assisted or automated technologies to support selected publishing activities.

Potential applications may include:

• manuscript technical checks;
• completeness checks;
• journal-scope matching;
• reviewer-identification support;
• duplicate-submission detection;
• textual-overlap screening;
• research-integrity screening;
• metadata validation;
• copy-editing support;
• production quality control; and
• identification of inconsistencies during publication production.

Such systems function as decision-support tools and not autonomous scientific or editorial decision-makers .

Human oversight must remain central to editorial and publication decisions.

Where external systems process confidential manuscript information, appropriate privacy, confidentiality, intellectual-property, contractual, data-security, and data-retention safeguards must be established.

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PART VII — OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE

23. Summary of Permitted, Disclosable, and Prohibited Uses

The following table provides practical guidance regarding common uses of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies.

24. Submission Confirmation

By submitting a manuscript to a journal published by Utan Kayu Publishing, the corresponding author confirms on behalf of all authors that:

1. all substantive use of generative AI has been appropriately disclosed;
2. AI tools have not been listed as authors or co-authors;
3. AI-assisted content has been critically reviewed and verified;
4. cited references have been independently checked;
5. AI has not been used to fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent research data or findings;
6. AI-generated or AI-assisted visual content complies with this policy;
7. AI used as part of the research methodology has been transparently described;
8. confidentiality, privacy, copyright, and intellectual-property requirements have been respected; and
9. all authors accept full responsibility for the final submitted manuscript.

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PART VIII — NON-COMPLIANCE AND EDITORIAL ACTION

25. Violations of This Policy

Potential violations include, but are not limited to:

• undisclosed substantive AI use;
• fabricated references;
• fabricated or manipulated data;
• fabricated research findings;
• AI-generated false scientific evidence;
• prohibited manipulation of primary research images;
• unauthorized disclosure of confidential manuscripts;
• misrepresentation of AI-generated content as genuine empirical evidence;
• inappropriate attribution of authorship to AI; or
• other AI use that compromises research or publication integrity.

Alleged violations will be assessed according to their nature, severity, intent, and potential impact on the scholarly record.

Depending on the circumstances, Utan Kayu Publishing or the relevant journal may:

• request clarification;
• request documentation of AI use;
• require correction or revision;
• require an AI disclosure statement;
• reject the manuscript;
• suspend editorial consideration;
• correct a published article;
• issue an expression of concern where appropriate;
• retract a published article;
• restrict future submissions in serious cases; and/or
• notify relevant institutions or authorities where justified.

Editorial action will be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the violation and will follow applicable publication-ethics procedures.

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PART IX — JOURNAL-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

26. Additional Requirements

This policy establishes the minimum publisher-wide standards for all journals under Utan Kayu Publishing.

Individual journals may adopt additional or more restrictive AI requirements where justified by disciplinary, methodological, ethical, legal, or professional considerations.

More stringent requirements may be particularly appropriate for research involving:

• clinical or patient data;
• medical imaging;
• psychological assessment;
• identifiable personal information;
• qualitative interviews;
• educational records;
• legal or confidential information;
• culturally sensitive data;
• genomic information; or
• other sensitive research materials.

Where a journal-specific requirement is stricter than this Publisher policy, the stricter requirement applies.

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PART X — POLICY REVIEW

27. Continuing Review and Updates

Generative AI technologies and standards for responsible AI use in scholarly publishing continue to evolve rapidly.

Utan Kayu Publishing will periodically review this policy in response to:

• developments in generative AI technologies;
• emerging research-integrity risks;
• developments in scholarly publishing practices;
• changes in privacy, copyright, and intellectual-property requirements;
• disciplinary standards; and
• internationally recognized publication-ethics guidance.

Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for consulting the current version of this policy when participating in the publication process.

28. Contact and Questions

Questions regarding the interpretation or application of this policy should be directed to the editorial office of the relevant journal or to Utan Kayu Publishing.

Where uncertainty exists regarding whether a particular AI-assisted activity requires disclosure, authors are encouraged to disclose the use transparently or contact the journal before submission.

29. Policy Basis and References

This policy has been developed with consideration of internationally recognized principles and guidance concerning generative AI, authorship, peer review, confidentiality, research integrity, and scholarly publishing.

1. Elsevier. Generative AI Policies for Journals. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals
2. Elsevier. Updated Generative AI Policies for Journals: Supporting Responsible Use While Protecting Trust. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/connect/updated-generative-ai-policies-for-journals-supporting-responsible-use-while-protecting-trust
3. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authorship and AI Tools. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools
4. World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). Chatbots, Generative AI, and Scholarly Manuscripts. Available at: https://wame.org/page3.php?id=106
5. Flanagin A, Bibbins-Domingo K, Berkwits M, Christiansen SL. Nonhuman “Authors” and Implications for the Integrity of Scientific Publication and Medical Knowledge. JAMA. 2023. Available at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2801170
6. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Fake Papers. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/topic-discussions/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-fake-papers

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Utan Kayu Publishing

Responsible use of artificial intelligence in scholarly publishing requires transparency, human oversight, accountability, confidentiality, and protection of the integrity of the scientific record.