Use of AI
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General information
The use of AI applications may be permitted in research, editorial work, and manuscript preparation, as long as it is carried out responsibly, transparently, in accordance with the law, and consistent with the principles of academic integrity. Responsibility for content, quality, originality, and accuracy always rests entirely with the human participants.
No AI as authorship
AI systems or generative models cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. They do not meet the requirements for assuming scholarly responsibility, nor can they effectively assume rights, obligations, conflicts of interest, or copyright guarantees.
Mandatory disclosure requirements for AI use
The use of AI must be disclosed if it goes beyond purely technical support functions such as spelling, grammar, formatting, or transcribing. In particular, the following uses must be disclosed:
- Creating, shortening, rephrasing, or substantially revising texts
- Generating, analyzing, or interpreting data
- Creating code, tables, illustrations, graphics, or other content
- Standardizing references and systematic research steps
- Translation, if this involves changes to the content
Content of the disclosure
The disclosure must at least contain:
- name of the AI tool used, including version, if available
- purpose and extent of use
- affected parts of the manuscript or research process
- confirmation that all AI-generated or AI-assisted content has been reviewed, corrected, and endorsed by the authors
Minor uses that do not require disclosure
A separate disclosure may not be necessary if AI was used solely for linguistic refinement, summarization, spell-checking, or formatting, and did not contribute to the content. Full responsibility remains with the authors also in this case.
Confidentiality, data protection, and third-party rights
The use of AI must not serve to substantially replace one’s own scientific work and does not relieve its users of their personal responsibility and scientific integrity. In particular, the use of AI for the following purposes is prohibited:
- Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data, results, sources, or citations
- Creation of seemingly original scholarly content without peer review
- Concealment of plagiarism or circumvention of scholarly standards
- Production of misleading illustrations, graphics, or other visual representations without clear labeling and editorial approval
Prohibited use
- When using AI applications, ensure that the data entered is not reused for machine learning or for training AI models. This applies in particular to manuscripts (or parts of them), expert opinions, and editorial communications.
- Confidential, personal, sensitive, copyrighted, or non-disclosable content must not be entered into AI systems unless there is a clear legal basis, sufficient safeguards, and appropriate usage rights.
Documentation and traceability
- Authors must, upon request by editors and publishers, provide transparent documentation of their use of AI. This may include, in particular, prompts, processing steps, validation measures, and methodological details.