Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

IJDDPI recognises that generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies are now widely used in research and scholarly communication. This policy explains what is permitted, what must be disclosed, and what is not allowed. It applies to authors, reviewers, and editors, and to every stage of the publication process. The guiding principle throughout is that AI may support human work but must never replace human judgement, and that a named human being remains accountable for everything submitted, reviewed, decided, and published.

1. For authors

Permitted use in manuscript preparation. Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies to support tasks such as synthesising literature, identifying gaps in the field, generating and refining ideas, and improving the language, clarity, and readability of the manuscript. Such tools must be used only under direct human oversight and control, and must never substitute for the authors' own critical thinking, subject expertise, analysis, or interpretation.

Author responsibility. Authors are fully responsible for the entire content of their manuscript, including any part produced with AI assistance. Before submission, authors must: verify the accuracy, completeness, and impartiality of every AI-generated output; check that all references actually exist, are correctly attributed, and genuinely support the statements made, since AI tools are known to fabricate plausible-looking citations; edit AI-assisted text thoroughly so that the manuscript reflects the authors' own work and reasoning; and review the terms and conditions of any tool used, so that confidential data, patient information, and intellectual property are not exposed. Undisclosed reliance on AI-generated text that the authors cannot vouch for is treated as a breach of research integrity.

AI cannot be an author. Generative AI tools must not be listed or cited as an author or co-author of a submission to IJDDPI. Authorship carries responsibilities that only a human can discharge: accountability for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of the work; approval of the final version; agreement to its submission; and the ability to investigate and resolve any question raised about the work after publication. AI tools cannot hold or exercise any of these responsibilities.

Declaration of AI use. Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of the manuscript. The disclosure takes the form of a separate section placed immediately before the reference list, headed "Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process", naming the tool used, the purpose for which it was used, and confirming that the output was reviewed and edited. The following wording is suggested:

"During the preparation of this manuscript the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL / SERVICE, including version] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article."

The declaration is not required for basic tools that only check grammar, spelling, or reference formatting, and is not required where an assistive technology is used solely for accessibility reasons (for example, by an author with a disability preparing the manuscript). Where the declaration is required, it will be published with the article so that readers can see how the work was prepared.

AI as part of the research itself. This declaration covers only the preparation of the manuscript. Where AI or machine-learning methods form part of the research design, data collection, or analysis — for example AI-assisted image analysis, molecular modelling, virtual screening, formulation optimisation, or predictive ADMET work — this is a methodological choice and must be described in full in the Methods section, in a way that another researcher could reproduce, including the name, version, source, and settings of the tool and the data used.

2. Figures, images, and artwork

Explanatory and conceptual images. Generative AI may be used to help produce explanatory illustrations that do not represent primary data — for example flow charts, decision trees, timelines, schematic concept diagrams, and experimental workflows. Authors must verify that the resulting figure accurately conveys their own ideas, and must disclose the use both in the figure caption and in the general AI declaration.

Data visualisations. AI-assisted tools may be used to generate plots, charts, graphs, and heatmaps that are derived directly from the authors' underlying data, provided the analytical, computational, or statistical method used is sound and reproducible. The tool and its version must be reported in the Methods section. AI tools must never be used to generate, extrapolate, embellish, or otherwise alter the underlying data or results.

Primary research images (not permitted). Generative AI must not be used to create, alter, enhance, obscure, move, remove, or introduce any feature in images that represent primary observed or experimental data. This includes, but is not limited to, microscopy and histology images, gels and western blots, chromatograms, radiological and other clinical scans, and photographs of patients or specimens. Only routine adjustments of brightness, contrast, or colour balance using established image-processing software are acceptable, and only where they are applied to the whole image and do not obscure or misrepresent any information present in the original. Original, unprocessed image files must be retained and provided to the editorial office on request.

Graphical abstracts. General-purpose generative AI tools must not be used to produce graphical abstracts. Authors should instead use dedicated scientific illustration tools (for example BioRender or Mind the Graph) and must confirm that their licence or institutional access permits publication of the resulting figure in an open-access journal article.

Cover art. Any use of generative AI to produce cover art or other promotional imagery requires the prior written agreement of the Editorial Office and the publisher, together with confirmation that all necessary third-party permissions have been obtained and that the tool used is properly attributed.

3. For reviewers

Confidentiality comes first. A manuscript submitted to IJDDPI is a confidential document. Reviewers must not upload a manuscript, or any part of it — including the abstract, figures, tables, or supplementary files — into a generative AI tool, at any stage of the review. Doing so may breach the authors' confidentiality, intellectual property, and data-privacy rights, because the content is transmitted to a third-party system over which neither the reviewer nor the journal has control. This restriction applies even to tools described as private.

Permitted supportive use. AI tools may be used in a limited supportive capacity that does not involve disclosing the manuscript — for example to improve the language and structure of a review report the reviewer has already written, or to carry out background literature searches on a general topic. The critical assessment of the work — its originality, methodology, results, interpretation, and significance — must be the reviewer's own and must not be delegated to an AI system.

Disclosure by reviewers. Reviewers who have used an AI tool in preparing their report must say so in the report, in the comments to the authors, for example:

"During the preparation of this review report I used [NAME OF TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, I reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the critical assessment presented in this report."

No disclosure is required for basic spelling and grammar checkers. Reviewers should take care that the disclosure does not reveal their identity, as IJDDPI operates double-anonymous peer review.

Choice of tools. Where AI tools are used at all in connection with review work, reviewers should use only tools that do not retain, reuse, share, or train on the content submitted to them. Reviewers should check the tool's privacy policy for an explicit statement to that effect, and should prefer paid, enterprise, institutionally provided, or locally hosted models over free consumer services.

4. For editors

Confidentiality. Editors, including guest editors and members of the editorial board acting in an editorial capacity, must not upload a manuscript or any part of it, or any confidential correspondence relating to it, into a generative AI tool. The evaluation of a submission, the selection of reviewers, the weighing of reviewer reports, and the final decision can only be performed by a human being.

Permitted supportive use. AI tools may be used in a limited supportive capacity that does not disclose confidential content — for example to improve the language and structure of a decision letter that the editor has drafted, or for background literature searching. Where tools are used, they must be private tools that do not retain or train on submitted content, as described in the section for reviewers.

Accountability. Editors remain fully responsible and accountable for the editorial process, for the final decision on each manuscript, and for all communications sent to authors and reviewers in the journal's name.

5. Use of AI by the journal

In the interests of transparency, IJDDPI informs authors that AI-assisted tools may be used by the editorial office to support routine tasks such as technical checks on submissions, similarity screening for plagiarism, and research-integrity checks. Any such use is subject to human oversight, and no editorial decision on a manuscript is ever made by an automated system. Authors who wish to know whether an AI-assisted tool was used in the handling of their submission may ask the Editorial Office.

6. Breaches of this policy

Suspected undisclosed, misleading, or inappropriate use of generative AI — including fabricated data, fabricated or misattributed references, manipulated images, or an AI-written manuscript presented as the authors' own — will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidance. Depending on the findings, the consequences may include a request for correction before further consideration, rejection of the manuscript, notification of the authors' institution, and, where the article has already been published, a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

This policy is reviewed periodically as the technology and the relevant community guidance develop. Questions about its application to a particular manuscript should be sent to the Editorial Office at editor@ijddpi.com before submission.

Last updated: 1 August 2026.