The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI technologies has transformed the way scholarly research is conducted, written, reviewed, and disseminated. While these technologies provide significant opportunities to improve research productivity and language quality, they also introduce ethical, legal, and academic integrity challenges.

SABDA Journal supports the responsible, transparent, and ethical use of AI-assisted technologies while maintaining that human authors remain fully responsible for every aspect of their manuscript.

This policy has been developed by considering recommendations from:

• Elsevier
• STM 
• WAME

In addition to establishing guidance for authors, SABDA Journal also adopts Generative AI policies for editors and reviewers. Editors and reviewers are expected to use AI-assisted technologies responsibly, protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, avoid uploading unpublished or confidential content into AI systems without appropriate authorization, and ensure that all editorial and peer-review decisions remain the result of independent human judgment and professional expertise.

SABDA Journal permits the responsible use of Generative AI solely as an assistive technology during manuscript preparation. Authors may use AI tools for purposes including:

1. AI Cannot Be an Author

   Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including Generative AI systems, cannot be listed as an author or co-author of a manuscript. Authorship requires accountability, intellectual contribution, approval of the final version, and responsibility for the integrity of the work, which can only be fulfilled by human authors.

2. Authors Retain Full Responsibility

   Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of all content contained in the manuscript, including any content generated, revised, translated, or assisted by AI tools.

3. Use of AI for Language Improvement

   AI-assisted technologies may be used to improve language quality, grammar, spelling, readability, and manuscript organization. However, such use must not replace the authors’ intellectual contribution, critical analysis, interpretation, or scientific judgment.

4. Verification of AI-Generated Content

   Any content produced with the assistance of AI must be carefully reviewed and verified by the authors. Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of facts, references, citations, data interpretations, and conclusions, as AI systems may generate incorrect, incomplete, or fabricated information.

5. Prohibition of Fabricated Data

   AI tools must not be used to generate, manipulate, falsify, fabricate, or misrepresent research data, results, images, tables, figures, or experimental findings. Any such practice constitutes research misconduct and may result in manuscript rejection or retraction.

6. Disclosure of Substantive AI Use

   Any substantive use of AI in manuscript preparation, including content generation, data analysis assistance, literature synthesis, coding support, figure creation, or substantial text revision, must be disclosed in an appropriate statement within the manuscript. Routine grammar and spelling corrections do not require disclosure.

Authors who use Generative AI during manuscript preparation must disclose its use in a separate section entitled:

Declaration of Generative AI Use

Example:

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) to improve language quality and readability. All generated content was carefully reviewed, revised, and verified by the authors, who assume full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the submitted work.

Disclosure is not required for basic spelling checkers, grammar correction software, or reference management tools that do not generate scholarly content.

SABDA Journal does not permit the use of Generative AI to create, manipulate, or alter research images, figures, graphs, tables, or datasets in ways that could misrepresent research findings.

The use of AI-generated visual content is only acceptable when:

• • It forms part of the research methodology;
  • It is clearly disclosed;
  • It is scientifically justified;
  • It does not violate copyright or intellectual property rights.

Reviewers must not upload, submit, or share confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, supplementary files, or any unpublished content into publicly available AI systems or external AI services. The confidentiality obligations of peer review remain fully applicable when using AI-assisted technologies.

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and editorial communications. Editors should not upload manuscripts, peer-review reports, or editorial correspondence to public AI tools or any system that may store, reuse, or train on confidential content. Editorial decisions must remain under human oversight and responsibility.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in:

• Requests for clarification;
• Manuscript revision;
• Rejection before publication;
• Publication of corrections;
• Retraction after publication;
• Additional editorial actions in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics.

SABDA Journal reserves the right to update this policy as international standards for scholarly publishing and Generative AI continue to evolve.