AI Policy

The World Journal of Experimental Biosciences is committed to the highest standards of integrity and transparency in scholarly publishing. This policy governs the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity AI and similar large language models or image-generation tools) by authors, reviewers, and editors. It is aligned with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Council of Science Editors (CSE). The following policy applies:

1. Authorship

  • AI tools cannot be listed as an author or co-author, and cannot be cited as an author. Authorship requires the capacity for accountability, consent, and intellectual responsibility, qualities an AI tool cannot hold. AI tools cannot approve a final manuscript, agree to be accountable for its accuracy and integrity, manage conflicts of interest, or hold copyright.
  • Authors remain fully and solely responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the entire manuscript, including any content generated or assisted by AI.

2. Acceptable Use of AI

Authors may use AI tools, with human oversight and critical review, to:

  • Improve language, grammar, clarity, and readability.
  • Assist with coding, data processing, formatting, or preliminary literature searches, provided all outputs are independently verified by the authors.
  • Support administrative tasks (e.g., formatting references to style), subject to author verification for accuracy.

AI-generated content must never be treated as an authoritative or primary source. Authors must critically review, fact-check, and edit all AI-assisted output before submission.

3. Unacceptable Use of AI

AI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate, fabricate, or falsify research data, results, images, figures, references, or citations.
  • Produce scientific interpretations or conclusions that replace the authors' own critical analysis, judgment, and intellectual contribution.
  • Circumvent originality, plagiarism, authorship, or research integrity requirements.
  • Generate or substantially draft peer review reports or editorial decisions in place of the independent judgment of reviewers and editors.

4. Disclosure Requirement

Any use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in the research or writing process must be explicitly disclosed by the authors at the time of submission. This disclosure does not apply to basic, non-generative tools such as spelling/grammar checkers, reference managers, or plagiarism-detection software.

Disclosure must be made in both the cover letter and the manuscript, in a dedicated subsection titled "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies" or "AI Declaration", placed at the end of the manuscript before the References list.

Required disclosure statement (template):

"During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [name of tool, version, developer] in order to [describe purpose, e.g., improve language and readability / assist with data summarization]. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication."

5. Use of AI in the Editorial and Peer Review Process

  • Editors and reviewers may use AI tools only for limited, non-substantive support (e.g., language polishing, summarization of publicly available information) and must never allow AI to replace independent, critical scholarly evaluation of a manuscript.
  • Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscript content, in whole or in part, into any public or third-party generative AI tool, as this may breach author confidentiality, data protection obligations, and intellectual property rights. Manuscripts under review are confidential documents.
  • Any use of AI by an editor or reviewer in assessing a manuscript must be disclosed to the editorial office.

6. AI-Generated images, figures, and data.

Generative AI tools must not be used to create, fabricate, manipulate, or substantially alter research images, figures, or data in a manner that misrepresents the underlying research or experimental results. The use of AI for minor, non-substantive tasks (e.g., improving figure layout, formatting, or image resolution without altering the scientific content) may be permitted, provided that such use is fully disclosed in the manuscript and complies with the journal's Research and Publication Ethics Policy.

7. Ethical Compliance

  • All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism, similarity, and integrity screening as part of the standard editorial workflow.
  • Undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI, including AI-fabricated data, text, citations, or images will be treated as a breach of publication ethics under this journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, and may result in manuscript rejection, correction, retraction of published work, and/or notification to the authors' institution(s), in accordance with COPE guidelines.

8. Policy Basis Alignment 

This policy is reviewed periodically to remain consistent with evolving international standards, including:

  • ICMJE, Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (Section on Artificial Intelligence).
  • COPE, Authorship and AI Tools — Position Statement.
  • WAME, Chatbots, Generative AI, and Scholarly Manuscripts recommendations.
  • CSE, Guidance on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Tools.