Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised legal and ethical concerns regarding research rights and integrity. As the editorial team of Al-Qurtas Journal, we recognize the potential offered by generative AI tools, including AI agents and deep research tools, particularly in facilitating the generation and exploration of ideas, identifying research gaps, helping authors express their content, especially when writing in a language other than their native language, and accelerating the research and publication process. Nevertheless, authors and reviewers are required to comply with the journal’s policy governing the use of AI tools.

Use of Artificial Intelligence by Reviewers

Reviewers must exercise caution and be aware that they may not have access to secure AI tools.

Manuscripts must be treated as confidential documents. Therefore, reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts to generative AI tools, as doing so may violate authors’ confidentiality and intellectual property rights. Where manuscripts contain personal information, such disclosure may also violate data privacy rights.

Reviewers must notify the editors if they identify indications of AI misuse in a manuscript, such as AI-generated content or fabricated data.

If any part of a submitted review report has been supported in any way by an AI tool, the reviewer must transparently disclose the use of such tools in the report. However, the final peer-review assessment must not be based on AI-generated conclusions, as the critical thinking and independent scholarly judgment required for this task cannot be reliably delegated to this technology, which carries the risk of producing inaccurate, incomplete, or biased conclusions about submitted research.

Use of Artificial Intelligence by Authors

Authors remain fully responsible for the content of their work. This includes responsibility for:

• Carefully reviewing and verifying the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and impartiality of all AI-generated outputs, including checking the sources, as AI-generated references may be incorrect or fabricated.

• Exercising caution regarding potential plagiarism when reproducing substantial text from other sources. Authors must therefore verify original sources to ensure that they do not inadvertently plagiarize the work of others.

• Carefully editing and adapting all material to ensure that the analyses, ideas, and conclusions genuinely reflect their own intellectual contributions.

• Authors may include AI-generated examples for illustrative purposes, provided that such examples are clearly labelled and appropriately cited in the manuscript.

• Authors are prohibited from using AI tools to generate substantive content for the manuscript, including the abstract, theoretical framework, research methodology, and other manuscript sections in which the intellectual contributions must be entirely the authors’ own.

• The use of AI tools to fabricate or simulate data or statistical analyses is prohibited. All data must be derived from reliable and verifiable research.

• Authors must review the terms and conditions of any AI tool they use to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of their data and inputs.

This policy does not apply to tools such as spelling and grammar checkers. It also excludes reference management software that enables authors to collect, organize, and manage references to scholarly articles, such as Mendeley, EndNote, and Zotero. Authors are permitted to use these tools.

Disclosure of AI Use by Authors

Authors who have used AI tools or AI-assisted technologies are required to include a statement at the end of their manuscript, immediately before the reference list, under the heading:

"Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process"

In this statement, authors must identify the tool used and the purpose for which it was employed. The following format is recommended:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name of tool/service] for [specific purpose]. Following the use of this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the content of the published article."

Generative AI Images

Al-Qurtas Journal does not permit the use of AI-generated images in published articles.

Policy Review and Updates

In anticipation of rapid developments in this field, the journal will review this policy regularly and amend it whenever necessary.

Consequences of Non-Compliance with the Journal's Policy

Failure to comply with this AI Use Policy may result in the following measures:

• Rejection of the manuscript or retraction of previously published articles.

• Exclusion of reviewers who breach confidentiality or misuse AI tools from the journal's reviewer database.

• Investigation and appropriate corrective action in cases where editors misuse AI tools or fail to enforce this policy.