Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

1. Policy Statement

Wilayah: The International Journal of East Asian Studies is committed to upholding the highest standards of scholarly integrity, ethical conduct, and academic responsibility. In light of the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI technologies in research and academic writing, this policy sets out clear principles governing their acceptable and ethical use by authors, editors, and peer reviewers. This policy seeks to ensure transparency, accountability, and the preservation of human scholarly judgement, in accordance with both international publishing ethics and the values underpinning Islamic-based scholarship.

2. Acceptable Use of AI

Authors may employ AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepSeek, or similar technologies) strictly as assistive instruments for the following purposes:

Grammar, spelling, and language correction

Improving clarity, readability, and academic style

Language translation

Basic support for data analysis or visualization

AI tools must not replace scholarly reasoning, critical analysis, or original intellectual contribution. All use of AI must remain subordinate to human authorship and scholarly oversight.

3. Disclosure Requirements

Any use of AI tools at any stage of the research, writing, or revision process must be transparently declared within the manuscript.

The disclosure statement shall be included in either the Methods or Acknowledgements section and must clearly specify:

The full name of the AI tool used (including version, where applicable)

The nature and scope of its use

Confirmation that all AI-assisted content has been reviewed, verified, and approved by the authors

Example disclosure statement:

“An AI tool (ChatGPT, OpenAI) was used to assist in language refinement and structural clarity. All content was critically reviewed and approved by the authors, who retain full responsibility for the manuscript.”

This level of transparency enables the editorial board to assess whether AI tools have been used responsibly and in line with ethical standards. The Jurnal Syariah retains full editorial discretion over publication decisions.

4. Prohibited Practices

The following practices are strictly prohibited:

Listing Artificial Intelligence or AI tools as authors or co-authors

Using AI to generate, fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data, results, citations, or references

Submitting AI-generated text without thorough human review and verification

Uploading unpublished manuscripts or confidential materials into AI systems

Using AI tools to influence, manipulate, or interfere with the peer review process

Any breach of these provisions may result in rejection, retraction, or further editorial action.

5. Responsibility and Authorship

Authors bear full and sole responsibility for the intellectual content of their submissions, including any portions drafted or assisted by AI tools.

Artificial Intelligence cannot satisfy authorship criteria and must not be credited as an author. Accountability for accuracy, originality, ethical compliance, and scholarly validity rests entirely with the human authors.

6. Use of AI by Editors

Editors are entrusted with safeguarding the quality, integrity, and confidentiality of the editorial and peer review process.

Accordingly:

Editors must not upload unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, supplementary files, images, or confidential information into AI tools

AI may only be used for limited support tasks (e.g., language checking), and not for editorial judgment or decision-making

Editors should consult the Editor-in-Chief before using any AI tools, unless prior authorization for a specific tool and use has already been granted

All editorial decisions must remain the product of informed human judgment.

7. Use of AI by Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers, as subject-matter experts, must conduct reviews independently and responsibly.

Peer reviewers are not permitted to:

Use AI tools to analyse, interpret, summarise, or evaluate submitted manuscripts

Upload unpublished manuscripts, proposals, or related materials into AI systems

AI tools may be used solely to assist with language refinement of review reports. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, and ethical integrity of their evaluations.

8. Ethical Compliance

This policy is aligned with internationally recognised standards of research ethics and academic publishing, including:

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines

Elsevier’s AI and Publishing Ethics Recommendations

Wilayah: The International Journal of East Asian Studies further affirms that ethical AI use must remain consistent with the principles of scholarly trust and intellectual honesty.

9. Review and Updates

This policy shall be reviewed periodically to reflect technological developments, evolving best practices, and emerging ethical considerations in academic publishing.