Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

IJCA – Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

Indonesian Journal of Chemical Analysis (IJCA)

  1. Purpose and Scope

This policy governs the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted tools by authors, reviewers, and editors involved in the publication process of the Indonesian Journal of Chemical Analysis (IJCA). The goal is to maintain academic integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct while acknowledging the emergence of AI technologies.

  1. General Principles
  1. AI may assist the writing or publication process, but cannot replace human intellectual contribution, decision-making, or accountability.
  2. All individuals involved must ensure accuracy, originality, confidentiality, and ethical standards.
  3. AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.
  4. Any use of AI must be properly disclosed as stated in this policy.
  1. Policy for Authors

3.1 Permitted Uses

Authors may use AI tools only for non-intellectual tasks, including:

  • Grammar improvement, language editing, or readability enhancement
  • Formatting assistance
  • Reference organization
  • Figure enhancement (non-scientific illustrations, graphical abstract visual design)

These uses must still be verified, edited, and approved by the authors.

3.2 Prohibited Uses

Authors must NOT use AI to:

  • Generate scientific content (abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion)
  • Generate data, fabricate results, or manipulate datasets
  • Produce interpretations, critical analysis, or scientific arguments
  • Automatically generate references or citations without verification
  • Produce chemical structures, spectra, or analytical data that mimic real data
  • Replace human oversight in research activities

Any violation may lead to immediate rejection or post-publication sanctions.

3.3 Disclosure Requirement

If AI tools are used in the writing process, authors must include a statement in the manuscript (e.g., in Acknowledgment or Author Contribution), such as:

“The authors used [Tool Name, Version] for language editing or grammatical correction. The authors reviewed, verified, and take full responsibility for the final content.”

The disclosure must specify:

  • Tool name (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL Write)
  • Purpose of use
  • Confirmation of human verification

3.4 AI Cannot Be an Author

AI systems do not meet authorship criteria and must not:

  • Be listed as an author
  • Be credited with conceptual contributions
  • Sign copyright agreements
  • Approve manuscript content

Only humans are responsible for the work.

  1. Policy for Reviewers

4.1 Confidentiality

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or any part thereof to public or commercial AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Copilot) because these systems may store or use uploaded data.
This is considered a serious breach of confidentiality.

4.2 Prohibited Uses

Reviewers may not use AI to:

  • Generate peer-review reports
  • Summarize or evaluate confidential manuscript content
  • Make accept/reject recommendations
  • Analyze or compare unpublished data
  • Translate parts of the manuscript using external AI tools that store user data

4.3 Permitted Uses

Reviewers may use:

  • Offline or locally installed grammar tools
  • AI tools for general writing clarity that do not access manuscript content
  • Non-AI digital tools (e.g., plagiarism detectors provided by the journal)

4.4 Reviewer Responsibility

Reviewers must ensure that all judgments, comments, and recommendations are fully their own intellectual work.

  1. Policy for Editors

5.1 Responsible Use

Editors may use AI tools only for operational purposes such as:

  • Checking language clarity (without uploading confidential content)
  • Assisting in administrative tasks
  • Improving correspondence clarity (non-manuscript text)

Editors must verify all outputs and maintain decision independence.

5.2 Confidentiality Requirements

Editors must not upload:

  • Entire manuscripts
  • Reviewer comments
  • Author responses
  • Supplementary or unpublished data

…to any external AI platform.

5.3 Editorial Decision-Making

AI must not be used to:

  • Determine manuscript acceptance or rejection
  • Evaluate scientific merit, novelty, or ethics
  • Assess reviewer quality
  • Produce editorial notes or decisions

All editorial responsibility remains with the handling editors.

  1. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Graphics

6.1 Permitted Uses

AI-generated graphics may be used for:

  • Non-scientific illustrations (e.g., conceptual diagrams, graphic abstracts)
  • Visual enhancements that do not alter scientific meaning

6.2 Prohibited Uses

Authors may not use AI to create:

  • Scientific figures (e.g., FTIR, UV-Vis, XRD, SEM, chromatograms)
  • Spectra or chemical structures
  • Data visualizations not based on real data
  • Images that may mislead or simulate actual experimental results

Any AI-modified images must be fully disclosed.

  1. Transparency and Accountability
  • Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any AI use.
  • All outputs from AI must be verified by humans.
  • Human users bear full responsibility for accuracy, ethics, and integrity.
  • All misconduct involving AI will result in:
    • Manuscript rejection
    • Review removal
    • Editorial role termination
    • Retraction (for published articles)
  1. Ethical and Legal Compliance

All AI usage must comply with:

  • COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)
  • IJCA ethical guidelines
  • Data protection and privacy rules
  • Intellectual property rights

Undeclared or improper AI use constitutes academic misconduct.

  1. Policy Updates

IJCA will periodically revise this policy to align with:

  • Technological advancements
  • Ethical best practices
  • Updates from COPE, ICMJE, and major publishers