Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Biology and Education Journal (BaEJ) supports the responsible, transparent, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in scholarly research and publishing while maintaining human accountability, research integrity, and editorial independence.

BaEJ recognizes that generative artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), and AI-assisted applications may support activities such as language editing, literature organization, data analysis, and the preparation of visual materials. However, these technologies must not compromise the accuracy, originality, transparency, confidentiality, or ethical integrity of scholarly work. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the journal's editorial and publication processes.

The use of AI in submissions and editorial activities must comply with the following principles:

• Human accountability: Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of their manuscripts, including content produced or modified with AI assistance.
• Transparency: Material use of AI must be disclosed clearly and accurately.
• Research integrity: AI must not be used to fabricate or falsify data, manipulate findings, generate misleading evidence, or misrepresent sources.
• Confidentiality: Confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, unpublished research data, and personal information must be protected.
• Editorial independence: AI-generated recommendations must not replace independent editorial judgment or expert peer review.

Authors may use appropriate AI-assisted tools for legitimate research and writing purposes, provided that such use does not violate research ethics, copyright, confidentiality, or other applicable requirements.

Authors must critically review all AI-generated outputs, verify factual claims and references against reliable original sources, ensure that citations accurately support the statements made, and obtain any required permissions for third-party material.

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools when these tools materially contribute to manuscript preparation, research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, or the creation of figures and other research outputs. Routine spelling and grammar correction that does not materially generate or alter scholarly content generally does not require a separate declaration.

The disclosure should identify, where applicable:

• The name of the AI tool and, where available, its version.
• The purpose for which the tool was used.
• The relevant research or manuscript tasks supported by the tool.
• The steps taken by the authors to verify the output and maintain research integrity.

For AI used in research procedures, data processing, analysis, or figure generation, the authors should also describe the relevant use in the Methods section or another appropriate section. The disclosure must reflect the actual use of the tool and must not be used to imply that AI independently validates the research.

AI systems, chatbots, and other AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to BaEJ. Authorship requires human responsibility for the work, including the ability to approve the final manuscript, respond to questions about its integrity, and take accountability for its content.

All listed authors must meet the journal's authorship criteria and accept responsibility for the submitted work, including any portions prepared with AI assistance. AI use does not replace the need to acknowledge the contributions of human collaborators or to cite original scholarly sources.

Peer reviewers must protect the confidentiality of all manuscripts and associated materials. Reviewers must not upload, paste, or otherwise transfer submitted manuscripts, unpublished data, figures, supplementary files, or confidential reviewer discussions into external AI systems where confidentiality and data protection cannot be assured.

Reviewers must not use AI to replace their own expert assessment of originality, methodological rigor, interpretation, relevance, or ethical compliance. AI-generated assessments may be inaccurate, biased, or incomplete and must not be treated as authoritative evidence.

If AI assistance is permitted for a review-related task, reviewers must follow the journal's instructions, ensure that confidentiality is protected, disclose the use to the editor when required, and independently verify any output. Reviewers remain responsible for the substance, fairness, and professionalism of their reports.

Editors and journal staff must preserve manuscript confidentiality and maintain independent editorial judgment. Submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and other confidential materials must not be uploaded to external AI systems unless the journal has explicitly authorized the use and adequate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards are in place.

AI may assist with appropriate administrative or editorial tasks, such as language checking or workflow support, provided that its use is proportionate and verified by a responsible human. AI must not independently determine acceptance, rejection, research validity, or allegations of misconduct.

Editors remain accountable for editorial decisions, the accuracy of journal communications, the protection of confidential information, and the fair application of the journal's policies.

AI-generated or AI-modified images, illustrations, diagrams, and other visual materials must not misrepresent research evidence. Authors must disclose material AI involvement where relevant, confirm that the material accurately represents the underlying research, and comply with copyright, licensing, and third-party rights requirements.

In biology-related research, AI must not be used to fabricate, remove, add, or alter features in scientific images or experimental records in ways that misrepresent the evidence. Any image processing must follow accepted research practices and be transparently described when it affects the interpretation of the findings.

AI-generated or synthetic data must never be presented as observations collected from actual participants, organisms, experiments, or field settings. Where synthetic data are legitimately used for simulation or methodological testing, their nature, generation procedure, and analytical role must be explicitly described.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted content does not infringe copyright, reproduce unattributed material, or misappropriate the work of others. AI-generated references and quotations must be checked against original publications or reliable bibliographic records before submission.

AI output is not a substitute for primary research sources. Authors must cite the original scholarly works that support their arguments and findings rather than treating an AI-generated response as proof that a claim is accurate.

Authors must comply with the journal's plagiarism policy, copyright notice, and licensing requirements. Disclosure of AI use does not excuse plagiarism, copyright infringement, fabricated citations, or any other breach of publication ethics.

The use of AI does not exempt authors from obtaining appropriate ethical approval, informed consent, permissions, or institutional authorization for research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or identifiable personal information, where applicable.

Authors must consider the privacy, security, bias, and limitations of AI tools used in research. Personal, confidential, sensitive, or identifiable data must not be entered into AI services unless the use is authorized, lawful, and supported by appropriate safeguards.

Where AI materially influences research design, data processing, analysis, or interpretation, the authors should explain the relevant procedures sufficiently to support critical assessment and, where appropriate, reproducibility.

BaEJ may investigate concerns about undisclosed or inappropriate AI use as part of its editorial and publication ethics procedures. The journal may request clarification, supporting documentation, original data, source files, or an explanation of the role of AI in the preparation or conduct of the research.

Where concerns are substantiated, the journal may take proportionate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies. Depending on the circumstances, this may include requesting a disclosure or correction, requiring revisions, rejecting a manuscript, suspending editorial consideration, or initiating a post-publication correction or retraction process.

AI-detection software or other automated indicators must not be treated as conclusive proof of misconduct on their own. Editorial concerns must be assessed fairly, with consideration of the available evidence and an opportunity for the authors to respond where appropriate.

Authors, reviewers, editors, and journal staff are expected to comply with this policy and any related instructions issued by BaEJ. Failure to disclose material AI use, misuse of confidential information, or the use of AI to fabricate or misrepresent research may be considered a breach of publication ethics.

BaEJ may revise this policy as AI technologies, scholarly publishing practices, research ethics standards, and applicable regulations evolve. Any revisions will be communicated through the journal's official website.

This policy is informed by established guidance on responsible AI use, authorship, confidentiality, and publication ethics, including the following resources:

• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence in publishing.
  https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Position statement on authorship and AI tools.
  https://publicationethics.org/

Responsible AI Use in Scholarly Publishing

Transparency • Accountability • Research Integrity