Statement on the Use of Generative AI and Chatbots

The Asia Pacific Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences (APJSBS) upholds the principles of academic integrity and responsible authorship. In line with the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Recommendations, the journal provides the following guidelines on the use of Generative AI (GenAI) and chatbot tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Bard, and the like) in scholarly publishing:

1. Authorship: AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Only human contributors who meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship criteria will be recognized.
2. Transparency of Use: Authors must fully disclose any use of GenAI or chatbot tools during manuscript preparation. This includes the purpose of use (e.g., language enhancement, summarization) and a brief description of how the tool was employed. Such disclosures must appear in the Ethics Statement section of the manuscript.
3. Accountability: Authors are solely responsible for the content generated or modified using AI tools, including its accuracy, originality, and proper citation of all sources. The use of AI must not result in plagiarism, fabrication, or misrepresentation of data.
4. Editorial and Peer Review: Editors and reviewers must not input any part of a submitted manuscript into AI tools, as doing so may breach confidentiality. If AI is used in any aspect of the peer review, its use should be minimal and must not influence scholarly judgment.
5. Integrity and Screening: APJSBS reserves the right to screen submissions for AI-generated content using appropriate detection tools. Manuscripts found to have relied on AI in ways that compromise academic integrity will be subject to rejection or retraction.

The journal acknowledges the evolving nature of GenAI technologies and commits to regularly review this policy in light of emerging ethical and technical developments.