Artificial Intelligence Policy

Artificial Intelligence Policy

Last updated: September 2026

1. Scope and General Principles

Ibnu Sina: Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan-Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), may support certain aspects of research, manuscript preparation, and scholarly communication.

This policy applies to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, peer reviewers, and editorial staff.

The use of AI must comply with the principles of transparency, accountability, confidentiality, data protection, research integrity, and human oversight. AI tools must not replace human expertise, critical thinking, scientific judgment, clinical judgment, or editorial responsibility.

All individuals who use AI tools remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of their work.

2. Definition

For the purposes of this policy:

  • Generative AI refers to technologies capable of generating or substantially modifying text, images, audio, video, computer code, data, or other content in response to user instructions.
  • AI-assisted tools refer to tools that support tasks such as language editing, translation, data analysis, reference organization, or content formatting.
  • AI tools include, but are not limited to, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Midjourney, DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, and similar technologies.

Basic spelling, grammar, and formatting tools that do not generate substantive content are not considered generative AI under this policy.

3. AI and Authorship

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship because they cannot:

  • Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work;
  • Approve the final version of the manuscript;
  • Declare conflicts of interest;
  • Sign copyright or licensing agreements;
  • Respond to questions regarding the accuracy of the work; or
  • Be held accountable for research misconduct.

Only individuals who meet the journal’s authorship criteria may be listed as authors. All human authors remain fully responsible for every part of the submitted and published manuscript, including content produced or modified with the assistance of AI.

4. Permitted Uses of AI

Authors may use AI tools, under appropriate human supervision, for the following purposes:

  • Improving grammar, spelling, readability, or sentence structure;
  • Assisting with translation after the original text has been written by the authors;
  • Organizing an initial manuscript outline;
  • Assisting with computer code development;
  • Supporting statistical analysis or data visualization;
  • Assisting with literature exploration or identification of relevant keywords; and
  • Creating explanatory diagrams or conceptual illustrations that do not represent primary research data.

Authors must carefully review, edit, and verify all AI-generated output. The final manuscript must represent the authors’ original scientific reasoning, interpretation, and conclusions.

The use of AI for research design, data analysis, coding, or data visualization must be described in sufficient detail to allow evaluation and, where applicable, reproduction of the methods.

5. Prohibited Uses of AI

AI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate, fabricate, falsify, or manipulate research data;
  • Create results or observations that did not arise from the reported research;
  • Alter statistical results to support a preferred conclusion;
  • Create fictitious participants, clinical findings, laboratory findings, or research procedures;
  • Generate false, inaccurate, or nonexistent references;
  • Conceal plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate text reuse;
  • Replace the authors’ scientific analysis, clinical judgment, or interpretation;
  • Generate an entire manuscript without meaningful intellectual contribution from the authors;
  • Create false ethical approval, informed consent, funding, or conflict-of-interest statements; or
  • Misrepresent AI-generated content as entirely human-generated work.

The authors are responsible for checking every reference against the original source. AI tools should not be relied upon to generate or manage bibliographic references because they may produce incomplete, inaccurate, or fabricated citations.

6. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies when these tools have contributed to the creation, revision, analysis, interpretation, or presentation of substantive content.

The disclosure must include:

  • The name of the AI tool;
  • The version, when available;
  • The developer or provider;
  • The date or period of use;
  • The purpose for which the tool was used;
  • The sections of the manuscript affected; and
  • Confirmation that the authors reviewed the output and accept full responsibility for its accuracy and integrity.

Routine spelling and grammar checking that does not generate or substantially modify content does not require disclosure.

Failure to disclose relevant AI use may result in a request for clarification, manuscript revision, rejection, withdrawal of acceptance, or post-publication action.

7. Location of the AI Declaration

When AI is used as part of the research methodology, including study design, coding, data analysis, diagnostic assessment, prediction, or data visualization, its use must be described in the Methods section.

When AI is used to assist with manuscript preparation, language revision, translation, summarization, or content organization, it must be disclosed in a separate section entitled:

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

This declaration should be placed at the end of the manuscript, before the References.

8. Recommended Declaration

Authors who used AI may include the following statement:

During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name and version of the AI tool], developed by [developer/provider], on [date or period of use], for [specific purpose]. The tool was used in the following section(s): [identify the relevant sections]. The author(s) subsequently reviewed, verified, and edited the output as necessary and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the content presented in this manuscript.

If AI was used as part of the research methods, authors may use the following statement:

[Name and version of the AI tool] was used for [describe its function]. The data entered into the tool, analytical procedures, validation process, and human oversight are described in the Methods section. All AI-generated outputs were independently reviewed and verified by the authors.

Authors who did not use generative AI may state:

The authors declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted technology was used to generate the scientific content of this manuscript.

9. AI-Generated Images and Research Data

AI-generated or AI-manipulated images must not be presented as original clinical or experimental data.

AI tools must not be used to create, add, remove, obscure, or modify features in:

  • Histological or microscopic images;
  • Radiological images;
  • Clinical photographs;
  • Images of patients or research participants;
  • Western blots, electrophoresis gels, or laboratory images;
  • Pathological specimens; or
  • Other primary research images.

Routine adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color may be permitted only when applied uniformly to the entire image and when they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information.

AI-generated conceptual illustrations, diagrams, or explanatory images may be considered when they do not represent primary research data. Their use must be disclosed in the figure legend and in the AI declaration.

If AI is an integral component of the research method—for example, AI-assisted image analysis or diagnostic prediction—the authors must describe the model, version, input data, validation procedures, performance measures, limitations, and human oversight in the Methods section.

10. Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors must not upload confidential, identifiable, or sensitive information to publicly accessible AI platforms.

This restriction includes:

  • Patient names or identification numbers;
  • Medical records;
  • Identifiable clinical photographs;
  • Unpublished research data;
  • Participant contact information;
  • Confidential institutional information; and
  • Documents protected by privacy, consent, contractual, or intellectual property requirements.

Where an AI tool processes health or personal data, authors must ensure compliance with applicable ethical approvals, informed consent requirements, institutional policies, and data protection regulations.

11. Policy for Peer Reviewers

Submitted manuscripts are confidential documents.

Reviewers must not upload a manuscript, abstract, figure, table, supplementary file, reviewer report, or any part of a submission to publicly accessible generative AI tools. Doing so may violate confidentiality, data protection, copyright, and intellectual property requirements.

AI tools must not replace the reviewer’s independent scientific evaluation. Reviewers remain personally responsible for the accuracy, fairness, originality, and integrity of their comments and recommendations.

If the journal permits the use of a secure AI-assisted tool for a limited purpose, the reviewer must obtain prior permission from the editor and disclose the use of the tool in the review report.

12. Policy for Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.

They must not upload unpublished manuscripts, figures, reviewer reports, author correspondence, or confidential editorial information to publicly accessible AI platforms.

AI-generated recommendations must not serve as the sole basis for:

  • Accepting or rejecting a manuscript;
  • Assessing scientific novelty or quality;
  • Selecting peer reviewers;
  • Determining whether misconduct has occurred; or
  • Making any final editorial decision.

All editorial decisions must be made by qualified human editors based on the scientific content of the manuscript, reviewers’ recommendations, publication ethics, and the journal’s editorial policies.

13. Detection of AI-Generated Content

The journal may use available tools to identify possible AI-generated or AI-manipulated content. However, the result of an AI-detection tool will not be treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct because such tools may produce false-positive or false-negative results.

When undisclosed or inappropriate AI use is suspected, the editorial team will conduct a human review and may request an explanation, original data, unedited images, analysis files, AI-use records, or other supporting documentation from the authors.

Authors will be given an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.

14. Violations and Editorial Actions

Suspected violations will be handled in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policy and relevant recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

  • Request clarification or correction;
  • Require revision of the manuscript;
  • Reject the manuscript;
  • Withdraw an acceptance decision;
  • Publish a correction or expression of concern;
  • Retract the published article;
  • Inform the authors’ institution; or
  • Take other action considered necessary to protect the integrity of the scientific record.

The use of AI does not exempt authors, reviewers, or editors from responsibility for violations of publication ethics.

15. Policy Review

Because AI technologies and publication standards continue to evolve, Ibnu Sina: Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan-Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara may periodically review and update this policy.

Users are responsible for consulting the most recent version available on the journal website.

References and Supporting Guidelines

This policy is based on the principles and recommendations provided by:

  1. Committee on Publication Ethics. Authorship and AI Tools.
    https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools
  2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Publishing.
    https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/
  3. Elsevier. Generative AI Policies for Journals.
    https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals
  4. Flanagin A, Perlis RH, Bibbins-Domingo K. Updated Guidance for Author Use of AI in Medical Publication. JAMA. 2026;336(11):926–928.
    https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2026.16613