1. Purpose of This Policy
Technical Report Press recognizes that artificial intelligence tools, including large language models, chatbots, image generators, translation tools, coding assistants, grammar tools, and data-analysis systems, are increasingly used in research and scholarly communication. These tools may support authors, reviewers, editors, and publishing staff when used responsibly, transparently, and ethically.
This policy explains how artificial intelligence tools may be used in manuscripts, peer review, editorial work, production, and publication activities connected with journals and other scholarly publications published by Technical Report Press.
The purpose of this policy is to protect academic integrity, authorship responsibility, confidentiality, originality, research reliability, and public trust in scholarly publishing.
2. Scope of the Policy
This policy applies to all journals, proceedings, special issues, books, edited volumes, reports, and other scholarly publications managed or published by Technical Report Press.
It applies to:
Authors and contributors
Reviewers
Editors and editorial board members
Guest editors
Copyeditors and production staff
Publisher staff and technical service providers
Any individual involved in submission, review, editing, production, or publication
3. General Principle
Artificial intelligence tools may assist scholarly work, but they cannot replace human responsibility, expert judgment, ethical conduct, or academic accountability.
All individuals using AI tools in relation to a manuscript or publication must ensure that such use is lawful, transparent, accurate, ethical, and consistent with confidentiality obligations.
4. AI Tools Cannot Be Authors
Artificial intelligence tools, chatbots, large language models, image generators, software agents, or any other non-human systems cannot be listed as authors, co-authors, corresponding authors, contributors, or members of a research group.
Authorship requires human responsibility, accountability, consent, originality, ethical judgment, and the ability to approve the final version of the work. AI tools cannot meet these requirements.
All listed authors must be human individuals who have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the work and who accept responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance of the manuscript.
5. Use of AI by Authors
Authors may use AI tools to support limited tasks such as language polishing, grammar checking, translation assistance, formatting support, coding assistance, literature organization, data processing, or preparation of visual material, provided that such use does not compromise originality, accuracy, transparency, confidentiality, copyright, or research integrity.
Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted to Technical Report Press, including any text, data, code, analysis, references, images, figures, tables, maps, diagrams, or conclusions produced with the assistance of AI tools.
Authors must carefully review, verify, and edit any AI-assisted output before submission. AI-generated content may be incorrect, incomplete, biased, fabricated, misleading, or based on sources that are not properly identified.
6. Disclosure of AI Use by Authors
Authors must disclose the use of AI tools when such tools have made a substantive contribution to the preparation of the manuscript. This includes use of AI for writing substantial text, generating or modifying figures, analyzing data, producing code, translating large portions of the manuscript, summarizing literature, developing arguments, or preparing research content.
Disclosure should be made in the cover letter and, where appropriate, in a statement within the manuscript.
A recommended disclosure statement is:
“During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name of AI tool or software] for [describe purpose, such as language editing, translation, data analysis, code assistance, or figure preparation]. The author(s) reviewed, edited, and verified the output and take full responsibility for the content of the manuscript.”
Routine use of spelling, grammar, reference-management, or formatting tools does not normally require disclosure unless the tool substantially rewrites, generates, analyzes, or interprets scholarly content.
7. Accuracy, References, and Source Verification
Authors must not rely on AI tools as authoritative sources of factual information. AI-generated references, quotations, statistics, legal statements, historical claims, scientific findings, or technical details must be independently verified using reliable original sources.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that:
All references are real, accurate, and properly cited;
No fabricated references are included;
No unsupported claims are presented as facts;
All quoted or paraphrased material is properly attributed;
Permission is obtained for copyrighted material where required;
No plagiarism, copyright infringement, or misappropriation of content has occurred.
AI tools must not be cited as primary sources for scholarly claims unless the manuscript is specifically analyzing the AI tool itself.
8. Prohibited Uses of AI by Authors
Technical Report Press does not permit the use of AI tools for any activity that compromises research integrity, publication ethics, or the reliability of the scholarly record.
The following uses are prohibited:
Fabricating, falsifying, or manipulating data;
Creating fake references, citations, quotations, or sources;
Generating misleading research findings or unsupported conclusions;
Manipulating images, maps, figures, photographs, or visual evidence in a deceptive way;
Producing plagiarism or unattributed text;
Submitting AI-generated manuscripts without human scholarly contribution and verification;
Concealing AI use where disclosure is required;
Using AI to create false authorship, false peer-review identities, or false editorial correspondence;
Inserting hidden prompts, hidden text, or machine-readable instructions intended to influence reviewers, editors, AI systems, indexing tools, or editorial workflows;
Using AI tools to evade plagiarism screening, authorship verification, peer review, or editorial checks.
Any such use may result in rejection, correction, retraction, notification to institutions, or other editorial action.
9. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Visual Material
Authors must disclose the use of AI tools to generate, edit, enhance, or substantially modify images, figures, diagrams, maps, photographs, graphical abstracts, or visual material.
AI-generated or AI-modified visual material must not misrepresent research findings, field conditions, experimental results, historical documents, design evidence, geographic features, laboratory images, or observational data.
Where images or figures are produced or modified using AI, authors should explain:
Which tool was used;
What material was generated or modified;
Whether the figure is illustrative, analytical, or evidence-based;
How accuracy was verified;
Whether any third-party material was used.
AI tools must not be used to create deceptive, fabricated, or misleading visual evidence.
10. Use of AI in Data Analysis and Coding
Authors may use AI tools for coding, statistical assistance, computational workflows, data cleaning, or analytical support, provided that the methods are transparent and reproducible.
Where AI tools materially affect data processing, coding, analysis, modeling, or interpretation, authors should describe this use in the methods section or a suitable disclosure statement.
Authors remain responsible for checking the accuracy, validity, reproducibility, and limitations of all AI-assisted analysis and code.
11. Use of AI by Reviewers
Reviewers must treat all manuscripts and review materials as confidential. Reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts, figures, tables, data, supplementary files, or review materials into public AI tools or third-party AI platforms unless the journal has explicitly authorized such use and confidentiality can be assured.
Reviewers may not use AI tools as a substitute for their own expert judgment. Peer review must reflect the reviewer’s own assessment of the manuscript’s originality, methods, evidence, argument, clarity, ethical compliance, and contribution to the field.
If a reviewer uses an approved AI tool for limited support, such as language organization or note preparation, the reviewer remains fully responsible for the content, accuracy, tone, and integrity of the review.
Reviewers must disclose to the editor any substantial use of AI tools in preparing a review report.
12. Use of AI by Editors
Editors may use AI tools for limited administrative or technical purposes, such as checking grammar, organizing notes, detecting possible similarity, identifying metadata issues, or improving workflow efficiency, provided that confidentiality and data protection are maintained.
Editors must not use AI tools as the sole basis for editorial decisions. Decisions must be made by human editors based on journal scope, scholarly quality, peer-review reports, ethical standards, editorial judgment, and the integrity of the manuscript.
Editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, author responses, editorial correspondence, or unpublished research materials into AI systems where confidentiality, privacy, and data security cannot be assured.
13. AI Detection Tools
Technical Report Press may use AI-detection tools or screening systems as part of editorial assessment, but such tools are not used as the sole basis for rejecting a manuscript or making misconduct findings.
AI-detection tools may produce inaccurate or uncertain results. If concerns arise, the editorial office may request clarification from authors, examine the manuscript carefully, and consider the issue in light of the manuscript content, disclosures, authorship information, and publication ethics standards.
Authors may be asked to provide explanations, source files, data, drafts, code, or other relevant documentation when necessary.
14. Confidentiality and Data Protection
All unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, author responses, and production files are confidential. AI tools must not be used in a way that compromises confidentiality, privacy, copyright, personal data, research data, institutional information, or unpublished findings.
Authors, reviewers, editors, and staff should avoid entering sensitive, confidential, identifiable, or unpublished material into public AI systems.
Where AI tools are used by the press or by approved service providers, appropriate measures should be taken to protect confidentiality, data security, and editorial independence.
15. Responsibility for Misuse of AI
Authors, reviewers, editors, and staff are responsible for the ethical use of AI tools. Misuse of AI may be treated as a publication ethics concern.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, Technical Report Press may take one or more of the following actions:
Request clarification or correction;
Require additional disclosure;
Return the manuscript for revision;
Reject the manuscript;
Withdraw an article before publication;
Publish a correction or expression of concern;
Retract a published article;
Notify relevant institutions, funders, or ethics bodies where appropriate;
Restrict future submissions or editorial participation in serious cases.
16. Responsibilities of Published Authors
After publication, authors remain responsible for the integrity of their published work. If authors discover that AI-assisted content contributed to an error, inaccurate statement, unreliable reference, image concern, data issue, or ethical problem, they should inform the editorial office promptly.
Technical Report Press may publish corrections, clarifications, expressions of concern, or retractions where necessary to protect the scholarly record.
17. Policy Review
Artificial intelligence technologies and publishing practices continue to change rapidly. Technical Report Press will review and update this policy periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, copyright, data protection, peer review, and responsible AI use.
18. Contact
Questions about this Artificial Intelligence Policy should be directed to the editorial or publishing office of Technical Report Press.
For journal-specific manuscript questions, authors should contact the relevant journal’s editorial office.
For publisher-level questions, policy clarification, or ethical concerns, please contact Technical Report Press through the official contact details provided on the publisher website.