Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The International Journal Linguistics of Sumatra and Malay (IJLSM) acknowledges the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and similar technologies. To maintain the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, and transparency, IJLSM strictly enforces the following guidelines regarding the use of AI in scholarly publications, in accordance with the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.

1. AI and Authorship

  • No AI Authorship: Artificial Intelligence tools cannot take public responsibility for the integrity of published research, hold copyright, or manage conflicts of interest. Therefore, AI tools must not be listed as an author or co-author on any submitted manuscript.

  • Human Accountability: The human author(s) hold full accountability for the entirety of the manuscript's content, including any sections generated, edited, or translated with the assistance of AI tools.

2. Authors' Responsibilities and Declaration

  • Mandatory Disclosure: Authors who use AI tools for data analysis, writing assistance, translation, or generating ideas must explicitly disclose this in the manuscript.

  • How to Declare: A dedicated section titled "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in the Writing Process" must be added at the end of the manuscript (before the References). The declaration must clearly state which tool was used, its version, and the specific purpose of its application.

    Example of declaration: "During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication."

  • Exemptions: The use of basic, non-generative tools for checking grammar, spelling, or reference management (e.g., standard Grammarly, Mendeley, Zotero) does not require a formal declaration.

3. Verification and Integrity

  • Fact-Checking: AI models are prone to generating plausible-sounding but incorrect information ("hallucinations"). Authors must rigorously verify all facts, data, arguments, and citations produced by AI.

  • Plagiarism: AI-generated text that closely mimics existing published works without proper citation will be treated as plagiarism. Authors must ensure that all sources are accurately cited and referenced.

4. Guidelines for Reviewers and Editors

  • Confidentiality Breach: Peer reviewers and editors are strictly prohibited from uploading submitted manuscripts into public generative AI tools (e.g., to generate peer review reports or summaries). Doing so constitutes a severe breach of confidentiality and the journal's double-blind peer-review policy.

  • Human Evaluation: The evaluation of manuscripts must rely entirely on the critical thinking, expertise, and objective assessment of the appointed human reviewers.