Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy

GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POLICY

Qubahan Political Journal (QPJ) recognizes the developing role of artificial intelligence and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in research and scholarly communication.

The journal's policy is based on transparency, human accountability, confidentiality, accuracy, and research integrity.

1. AI Cannot Be an Author

Artificial intelligence systems, chatbots, large language models, and similar technologies cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume scholarly, ethical, or legal responsibility.

2. Human Responsibility

Human authors remain fully responsible for:

• accuracy;
• originality;
• arguments and interpretations;
• research data;
• analysis;
• references;
• figures and tables;
• conclusions; and
• compliance with journal policies.

3. Disclosure

Substantive use of GenAI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation, research design, analysis, coding, data processing, translation, generation of research materials, or presentation must be transparently disclosed.

The disclosure should identify the tool and explain its purpose and manner of use.

4. Language Assistance

Use of automated tools for spelling, grammar, readability, or limited language improvement does not transfer responsibility away from the authors.

Authors must ensure that such tools do not alter scholarly meaning or introduce factual errors.

5. Prohibited Uses

AI must not be used to:

• fabricate or falsify research data;
• invent references;
• misrepresent sources;
• create deceptive evidence;
• conceal plagiarism;
• generate fraudulent peer reviews;
• impersonate participants or sources without legitimate methodological justification; or
• otherwise compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.

6. References

Authors must personally verify every reference.

AI-generated or AI-suggested references must not be included unless the authors confirm that the source exists, is accurately represented, and genuinely supports the relevant statement.

7. Editors and Reviewers

Submitted manuscripts and peer-review materials are confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts, figures, tables, unpublished data, reviewer reports, personal information, or identifiable manuscript content to publicly accessible AI systems where confidentiality and data security cannot be assured.

Editors and reviewers remain personally responsible for their assessments and decisions.

8. Undisclosed or Inappropriate AI Use

Where AI use raises concerns about authorship, originality, data, references, confidentiality, or research integrity, QPJ may request clarification and supporting information and may take action under its Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Policy.