Declaration of Generative AI Use

In view of the challenges posed by the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools and other machine learning technologies, and their increasingly widespread use in academic publishing, it has become necessary to establish guidelines to be followed by all those involved in our journal’s publication process when working on manuscripts.

We would like to draw particular attention to the need to adopt a critical approach to the results – the output data – obtained through the use of GSI tools, and above all to maintain transparency at every stage of working with such tools. These two guiding principles, together with the guidelines set out below, are intended to ensure that the published texts are of the highest possible substantive and academic quality. As the editorial team of the Politeja journal, we fully endorse the position and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding standards for the use of GSI tools in academic publishing (see COPE Position – Authorship and AI).

 

What do we mean by generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools?

  • chatbots based on general large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT;
  • AI agents implemented in various types of software;
  • GSI-powered applications (e.g. foreign language translation programmes);
  • in-house language models trained on the basis of proprietary context (i.e. data) or made available by other researchers in programming libraries.

For Authors

1) In accordance with COPE guidelines regarding the use of GSI, the editorial board does not permit a GSI tool to be the author or co-author of the submitted text or any part thereof. This also applies to the authorship of illustrations and graphics included in the text.

2) It is strictly prohibited to use GSI tools to formulate research hypotheses, interpret data and draw conclusions without verification by the author.

3) The use of GSI tools is permitted in a supporting capacity during text preparation (e.g. proofreading, translation) or to a greater extent if the author uses GenAI-supported computational tools for their research. In both cases, there is an absolute requirement to provide a comprehensive description of:

  • the type of technologies and tools used (type, name, version),
  • the manner of their application,
  • the parts of the text affected by the intervention and its impact on the text’s content, as well as the justification for the use of the aforementioned means,
  • the methods of verifying the generated output.

The author is required to include such an explanation within the submitted manuscript: in the main text (preferably in the section on research methods) or in a footnote at the beginning of the text. Furthermore, they should include this information in the abstract attached to the submission, which is to form part of the metadata of the published article.

4) The author acknowledges that, at the request of the editorial team or reviewers, they must provide the full text or an excerpt of the prompt(s) used whilst working on the text and the research contained therein. The request may also concern the sequence of actions performed in the GSI-supported application.

5) When submitting a manuscript, the author must declare whether they have used GSI tools; the relevant form is available here.

6) The author bears full responsibility for the manner in which GSI tools are used and for any resulting breaches of publication ethics or copyright law.

For Reviewers

1) During the peer-review process, the reviewer is entitled to request a report from software designed to detect the use of GSI in order to clarify any concerns raised regarding the manuscript under review.

2) Reviewers are not permitted to independently run the submitted text through software designed to detect the use of GSI. If they deem it appropriate to carry out such an analysis, they should notify the journal’s editorial team or the publisher of this requirement.

3) The reviewer should take a critical approach to the results of the analysis, bearing in mind the limitations of the software used.

4) It is prohibited to use GSI tools to assist in the peer-review process of submitted manuscripts, and in particular to write reviews.

5) If the author of the submitted text has declared the use of GSI, the reviewer should address these practices in their review and assess their validity.

For Editors

1) The editorial team reserves the right to scan submitted texts using software that detects the use of GSI, provided that it uses trusted products for this purpose. ‘Trusted’ means products that ensure the security of the data being analysed and have a documented methodology.

2) In each case, the editorial team should inform the publisher that such an analysis has been carried out, or has the right to notify the publisher of the need to carry out such an analysis.

3) The editorial team should take a critical view of the results of the analysis, bearing in mind the limitations of the software used.