As artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grammarly, Quillbot, and Consensus become increasingly prevalent in academic work, major publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley are establishing guidelines for their use in manuscript preparation. While specific thresholds for AI content (e.g., Turnitin AI scores) are rarely specified, major publishers uniformly stress the importance of transparency, proper attribution, and ethical practices. AI tools are not recognized as authors, as they fail to meet authorship criteria or assume responsibility for submitted work. When AI tools are used in manuscript preparation, their use must be explicitly disclosed in the appropriate section, with authors assuming full accountability for the work in its entirety.

To support ethical research practices, i-CATS Research Management Centre (iRMC) urge all academic staff to be mindful of the following key points regarding AI usage:

1. Transparency Requirements

Disclose the Nature and Extent of AI Use: Authors must clearly state if and how AI tools were used during manuscript preparation. Examples include: Editing or refining language, generating initial ideas, improving manuscript structure, or citation suggestions, managing citations or improving grammar.

AI Tools Cannot Be Credited as Authors: AI does not meet authorship criteria (e.g., accountability, intellectual contribution) as per COPE and ICMJE guidelines.

Acknowledge All AI Tools Used: Disclose the use of AI tools, typically in the acknowledgement section (Example write-up: “Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly were used solely for improving grammar and language clarity, without contributing intellectually to the content, findings, or interpretations presented in this work.”).

2. AI Content Thresholds

Most publishers assess manuscripts qualitatively, without specific thresholds for AI use (e.g., no "maximum AI percentage"). However, excessive reliance on AI without proper disclosure may lead to scrutiny or rejection.

3. Recommendations for Ethical AI Use

Ethical Use: AI tools can significantly enhance academic writing across various stages, including idea generation, content structuring, literature synthesis, data management, editing, and ensuring ethical compliance.

Ensure Originality: Carefully verify the manuscript for factual accuracy, ensure originality, and check that AI-generated content does not introduce bias or errors.

Follow Journal-Specific Guidelines: Always review the submission guidelines of your target journal to ensure compliance with their specific policies on AI usage.

Final Note

The i-CATS Research Management Centre (iRMC) encourages all i-CATS UC researchers to responsibly utilize AI tools while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, originality, and credibility in our academic work. For any questions or further clarification, please feel free to contact the Research Management Centre.

Further Reading:

Tang, A., Li, K., Kwok, K. O., Cao, L., Luong, S., & Tam, W. (2024). The importance of transparency: Declaring the use of generative artificial intelligence (ai) in academic writing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 56(2), 314–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12938