AI and Generative Technologies Policy
SPC Journals
1. Purpose
The SPC's Journals recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative technologies are becoming increasingly integrated into scholarly communication, research activities, and editorial workflows. These technologies provide valuable opportunities to improve the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of scientific communication when used responsibly and transparently.
The purpose of this policy is to establish clear principles for the ethical, responsible, and transparent use of AI and generative technologies throughout the editorial and publication processes of SPC's Journals. The policy is intended to protect scientific integrity, maintain public trust in scholarly publishing, and ensure that technological innovation supports—rather than replaces—human expertise, professional judgment, and ethical responsibility.
SPC's Journals encourages innovation while emphasizing that all scholarly contributions published by the journal remain subject to accepted standards of research integrity, editorial independence, transparency, accountability, and human oversight.
2. Policy Statement
SPC's Journals supports the responsible use of artificial intelligence and generative technologies as tools that may assist authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff in selected aspects of scholarly communication and editorial practice.
Artificial intelligence may facilitate language improvement, information organization, data processing, and administrative efficiency; however, it cannot replace human intellectual contribution, scientific reasoning, ethical responsibility, editorial judgment, or accountability.
Regardless of the technologies used during manuscript preparation, peer review, editorial assessment, or publication, all individuals involved in the editorial process remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their work and decisions.
The journal neither promotes nor discourages the use of AI technologies. Instead, SPC's Journals supports their responsible application in ways that strengthen scholarly communication while preserving the fundamental principles of scientific publishing.
3. Scope
This policy applies to all participants involved in the editorial and publication processes of SPC's Journals, including but not limited to:
- Authors and co-authors;
- Reviewers;
- Editors;
- Editorial Board members;
- Guest Editors;
- Editorial Office staff; and
- Individuals providing editorial or production support on behalf of the journal.
The policy applies throughout the entire publication lifecycle, including manuscript preparation, submission, peer review, editorial evaluation, revision, production, publication, post-publication communication, and any other activities related to the journal's editorial responsibilities.
4. Definitions
For the purposes of this policy:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computational systems capable of performing tasks that normally require human cognitive abilities, including generating, analyzing, translating, summarizing, organizing, or processing scholarly content.
Generative Technologies refer to AI-enabled systems capable of producing or modifying text, images, figures, graphics, computer code, audio, video, datasets, or other digital content based on user instructions or training data.
This policy is technology-neutral. It applies equally to current and future AI systems, regardless of their developer, provider, architecture, or commercial platform.
5. Guiding Principles
The implementation of this policy is based upon the following editorial principles.
5.1 Scientific Integrity
Scientific integrity remains the foundation of all editorial and publishing activities. The use of AI technologies shall never compromise the accuracy, reliability, originality, reproducibility, or credibility of scholarly work.
5.2 Human Accountability
Artificial intelligence cannot assume responsibility for scholarly work.
Authors remain responsible for every statement, interpretation, conclusion, citation, dataset, figure, image, and supplementary material submitted to the journal.
Editors remain responsible for all editorial decisions.
Reviewers remain responsible for the content and quality of their evaluations.
Scientific accountability cannot be delegated to technological systems.
5.3 Transparency
The journal promotes openness regarding the appropriate use of AI whenever such use has made a meaningful contribution to the preparation, analysis, or presentation of scholarly work.
Transparency strengthens trust between authors, editors, reviewers, readers, and the wider research community.
5.4 Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions shall always be made through independent human judgment.
AI technologies may support administrative efficiency but shall never determine whether a manuscript is accepted, revised, or rejected.
Editorial independence remains a fundamental principle of SPC's Journals .
5.5 Ethical Responsibility
All uses of AI must remain consistent with accepted standards of publication ethics, responsible research conduct, copyright protection, confidentiality, academic honesty, and respect for intellectual property.
Technological capabilities do not diminish ethical responsibilities.
5.6 Confidentiality
The confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, peer review reports, editorial correspondence, unpublished research, personal information, and editorial discussions must be preserved throughout the editorial process.
The use of AI technologies shall not compromise confidential information or violate applicable privacy obligations.
5.7 Human Oversight
Meaningful human review shall accompany every substantive use of AI in scholarly communication.
Outputs generated or supported by AI technologies should be critically evaluated, verified, and, where necessary, corrected before being incorporated into scholarly work or editorial decisions.
5.8 Responsible Innovation
SPC's Journals recognizes that artificial intelligence will continue to evolve.
The journal supports innovation that improves scholarly communication while ensuring that technological developments remain aligned with scientific integrity, ethical publishing, and editorial quality.
5.9 Continuous Improvement
Because AI technologies are rapidly evolving, SPC's Journals periodically reviews this policy to ensure continued alignment with internationally recognized publication ethics, editorial best practices, and emerging technological developments.
Policy revisions may be introduced whenever necessary to strengthen responsible editorial governance.