Use of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

PIDCC acknowledges the growing use of automated tools, including generative artificial intelligence (AI) — such as large language models (LLMs) — and sets out the following policy for authors, reviewers and editors. The use of these tools does not, under any circumstances, remove the requirement for human responsibility and oversight.

For authors

Disclosure of use. Authors must disclose the use of generative AI in preparing their work, stating the tool and the purpose, whenever such use goes beyond simple language correction, text editing and formatting. The disclosure must appear in the manuscript, preferably in an acknowledgements section, a methodological note or an equivalent statement.

Accountability. Authors are fully responsible for verifying the validity, accuracy and integrity of any output produced by automated tools used in the research or in the preparation of the manuscript, and are accountable for the content in its entirety.

Authorship. AI tools cannot be credited as authors or co-authors, since they cannot take responsibility for the work.

Citation. Generative AI cannot be cited as a source. Statements, data and references must point to verifiable and legitimate sources.

For reviewers and editors

Confidentiality and prohibition. Reviewers and editors must not use generative AI to produce their review reports or editorial decisions. Submitting manuscripts, in whole or in part, to generative AI tools breaches the duty of confidentiality and is prohibited. Relying on such tools to produce assessments also carries the risk of superficial and generic feedback, bias, inappropriate recommendations and false information, such as non-existent references.

Language editing. The use of automated tools limited to language revision or to improving the wording of the reviewer's own report may be accepted, provided it is duly disclosed and no confidential content of the manuscript is submitted to external services.

Institutional use by the journal

Disclosure. Any routine use of automated tools by the journal or its staff is disclosed. The tools adopted are tested for suitability beforehand.

Human oversight: the use of automated tools is subject to human oversight (human-in-the-loop). An editor or member of the editorial team reviews the results of automated screening for integrity problems — such as textual similarity, image manipulation or duplication, undisclosed use of generative AI and automated reviewer suggestions — and the final decision always rests with people.