Dasmariñas Journal of Sustainable Governance
Artificial Intelligence Utilization Policy
Artificial Intelligence in Submission and Review
The Dasmarinas Journal of Sustainable Governance (DJSG) permits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools only for improving the readability, clarity, and linguistic quality of manuscripts. The use of AI to generate, analyze, or interpret research data, or to produce substantial portions of a manuscript, is strictly prohibited.
DJSG fully adheres to the ethical guidelines established by Elsevier and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. To ensure ethical consistency and transparency in publication, the journal defines specific responsibilities and principles for authors, reviewers, and editors concerning the appropriate and accountable use of AI tools.
For Authors
- AI tools, including generative AI, language models, and other machine-learning technologies, cannot be listed as authors because authorship is reserved for humans who meet the journal's authorship criteria.
- When writers use these tools, they should do so only to improve clarity, flow, or readability. All ideas, interpretations, and conclusions must remain the author's own.
- Authors are responsible for verifying any content created with AI assistance. They remain fully accountable for the integrity and accuracy of all AI-generated or AI-supported material in their manuscript.
- Any use of AI tools must be openly disclosed. Authors should specify which tools were used, how they were used, and which parts of the manuscript they helped create or edit. This information should appear in the AI Statement section of the article information form, or in the Acknowledgment or Methods section if AI use is part of the study design or methodology. Routine tools used only for grammar, spelling, or reference checks do not need to be reported.
For Reviewers
- Reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts with strict confidentiality and access them only within the boundaries of ethical and professional conduct.
- Reviewers must never upload the submitted manuscript, or any portion of it, to artificial intelligence tools or similar platforms. This confidentiality obligation also extends to the referee report, which may contain sensitive information about the manuscript and its authors.
- Violating these rules can compromise author privacy, infringe intellectual property rights, and, when manuscripts include identifiable personal data, create serious breaches of data protection and privacy laws.
- Reviewers are entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the peer-review process and maintaining the confidence that authors place in the journal. They are fully responsible and accountable for the content of their evaluation.
- The journal allows authors to use generative AI and AI-assisted tools during the writing stage before submission, but only to improve clarity and readability. Authors must disclose such use in accordance with the journal's guidelines. Reviewers may find this disclosure, or a similar statement, in the manuscript's AI Statement section.
For Editors
- Articles submitted to the journal must be treated as confidential documents.
- Journal editors should avoid uploading entire articles, or any part of them, to generative AI tools because this may compromise author confidentiality and intellectual property rights.
- If the article contains personally identifiable information, such actions may violate data privacy regulations. This confidentiality obligation also applies to all communication related to the article, including notifications and decision letters, because such correspondence may contain sensitive information about the article or its authors.
- Editors should avoid using AI tools to process these materials even if the purpose is only to improve language or clarity. If an editor suspects that AI policies have been violated by an author or reviewer, they should notify the publisher.
Authors hold full legal and ethical responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the work they submit. Although DJSG uses standard plagiarism-detection software such as Turnitin, the editorial office may also perform manual checks, such as reviewing metadata and verifying references, to confirm the authenticity of the manuscript.
If a manuscript appears to contain unreported generative AI content, altered or misleading citations, or invalid DOIs, it may undergo additional investigation and can be rejected in line with DJSG guidelines.
