Artificial Intelligence Policy

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) POLICY
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
 
1. General Principles

The Da Nang Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy (DJMP) recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI, large language models (LLMs), chatbots, image-generation tools, and other AI-assisted technologies, may support research and scholarly publishing activities.

The use of AI must comply with the principles of:

• Transparency;
• Human accountability;
• Confidentiality;
• Accuracy and verifiability;
• Respect for authorship and intellectual property;
• Scientific integrity and publication ethics.

Humans remain ultimately responsible for all content generated, edited, analyzed, or otherwise assisted by AI. AI systems may produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or fabricated information and references; therefore, AI-generated output must be verified by humans before use.

2. AI Must Not Be Listed as an Author

AI systems, chatbots, LLMs, and other AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to DJMP.

• AI cannot take responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the work;
• AI cannot approve the final version;
• AI cannot accept accountability;
• AI cannot disclose and manage conflicts of interest;
• AI cannot assume responsibility for authorship and copyright.

Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted and published content, including content produced with AI assistance.

3. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI or AI-assisted technologies during research and manuscript preparation when such use is consistent with research ethics, applicable law, and DJMP policies.

• Language, spelling, and grammar support;
• Editing or improvement of expression;
• Information search or organization;
• Programming or data processing support;
• Data analysis support;
• Creation or editing of images, tables, or figures;
• Assistance in manuscript preparation.

Permitted use of AI does not reduce the authors’ responsibility for the accuracy, originality, citations, methodology, data, results, and conclusions of the work.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or other AI technologies when such tools make a substantial contribution to the scientific content of the work.

At a minimum, DJMP recommends disclosure of:

• Name of the AI tool or system;
• Provider or version, where available;
• Purpose of use;
• The part of the research or manuscript in which AI was used;
• How the authors reviewed and verified the AI output where necessary.

Routine functions such as spelling checks, grammar correction, formatting, or basic language editing may not require separate disclosure unless DJMP specifies otherwise.

5. Sample AI Use Statement
Artificial Intelligence Use Statement: During the preparation of this work, the authors used [name of tool, version if applicable] for [describe purpose]. After using the tool, the authors reviewed and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the content of the article.
6. Authors’ Responsibility for Verification
• Accuracy of information;
• Data and results;
• Scientific content;
• References;
• DOI and bibliographic information;
• Citations;
• Images and tables;
• Claims or conclusions generated with AI assistance.

Authors must not assume that AI output is accurate merely because it appears plausible or academically written.

7. AI and References

Generative AI must not be used as a substitute scientific source for the original source of information.

Authors must access, verify, and cite the appropriate original source.

References, DOIs, author names, journal titles, or bibliographic information generated by AI must not be included in the reference list unless independently verified.

8. AI, Plagiarism, and Intellectual Property
• Must not contain plagiarism;
• Must not infringe copyright;
• Must not use third-party content without authorization;
• Must be appropriately cited;
• Must be used under an appropriate license where required.

The fact that content was generated or assisted by AI does not remove responsibility for plagiarism or copyright compliance.

9. AI in Image Generation and Processing

The use of AI to generate, edit, or process scientific images must be disclosed where it may affect interpretation of the data or scientific content.

• AI must not create research data that do not exist;
• AI must not add, remove, or alter data/image features in a way that misrepresents results;
• AI must not generate images presented as experimental evidence when they are not derived from real data;
• AI must not conceal manipulations that compromise data integrity.

Scientific image processing must be explainable and consistent with the research methods described.

10. AI in Data Analysis and Research Methods

Where AI, machine learning, or an automated system forms part of the research methodology, its use must be adequately described in the Methods section so that readers can understand and evaluate the study.

• Tool or model name;
• Version;
• Purpose of use;
• Input data;
• Important parameters or methods;
• Validation or verification of results.
11. Protection of Data and Confidential Information

Authors must not enter the following into public AI systems or systems that do not provide adequate confidentiality:

• Patient-identifying information;
• Medical records;
• Sensitive personal data;
• Research data not authorized for sharing;
• Confidential information;
• Materials that authors are not authorized to disclose to third parties.

For DJMP as a medical and health sciences journal, this is a mandatory principle, particularly for patient data and clinical research.

12. Use of AI by Reviewers

Manuscripts under review are confidential. Reviewers must not upload all or part of a manuscript, data, images, or other confidential materials to AI systems where confidentiality is not assured.

AI cannot replace expert judgment or the personal responsibility of reviewers.

13. Use of AI by Editors and the Editorial Board

Editors must protect manuscript confidentiality. Manuscripts or confidential materials must not be entered into AI systems where confidentiality is not assured without appropriate authorization.

AI must not replace human editorial decision-making.

• Desk Reject;
• Send for Peer Review;
• Minor Revision;
• Major Revision;
• Accept;
• Reject.
14. Use of AI by DJMP

DJMP may use automated or AI-assisted tools to support:

• Similarity checking;
• Metadata checking;
• Formatting checks;
• Language editing support;
• Detection of potential content-integrity concerns;
• Other publishing production or management activities.

Automated tools must be used under human supervision. Automated findings must not be treated as final decisions regarding plagiarism, misconduct, scientific quality, or acceptance/rejection of a manuscript.

15. Undisclosed or Inappropriate Use of AI

If DJMP identifies AI use that should have been disclosed but was not disclosed, or AI use that may affect originality, reliability, ethics, or research integrity, the Journal may:

• Request an explanation from the authors;
• Require an AI disclosure statement;
• Require manuscript revision;
• Request relevant data or supporting documents;
• Suspend manuscript processing;
• Reject the manuscript;
• Take post-publication action where necessary.
16. Final Responsibility Remains with Humans

In all circumstances, authors, reviewers, and editors remain personally responsible for their work and decisions.

AI is a supporting tool and cannot replace human scientific, ethical, or editorial responsibility.

DJMP may update this policy as AI technologies, publication ethics standards, or relevant international guidance evolve.