Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology recognizes the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including large language models (LLMs) and other AI-driven platforms, in manuscript preparation, peer review, and editorial processes. While these tools may offer valuable assistance, transparency, accountability, and ethical considerations must remain central.
For Authors
Disclosure Requirements:
Authors must explicitly disclose in the Methods or Acknowledgements section if AI tools were utilized during manuscript preparation, specifying the software name and version.
Authors must clearly outline the specific roles played by AI tools, such as text generation, data analysis, or visualization.
Authorship and Accountability:
AI systems do not qualify for authorship. Authors listed must have substantial intellectual input and must accept responsibility for manuscript content.
Authors are accountable for reviewing, validating, and approving all AI-generated content.
Data Accuracy and Validation:
Authors must rigorously validate any data or analyses derived from AI tools. Misrepresentation or inaccuracies resulting from AI may constitute scientific misconduct.
Human verification and interpretation of AI-generated results are mandatory prior to submission.
Ethical Considerations:
Use of AI tools must adhere to ethical standards regarding privacy, confidentiality, and data protection.
Compliance with relevant ethical guidelines and institutional policies on scientific research is required.
For Reviewers
Transparency and Disclosure:
Reviewers must disclose if AI tools significantly assisted in their peer-review activities.
Reviewers must clearly describe the scope of AI involvement when submitting review reports.
Validation and Accountability:
Reviewers remain responsible for all review content, including content assisted or generated by AI.
AI-generated suggestions or analyses must be carefully reviewed and validated by reviewers for accuracy and relevance.
Confidentiality:
Reviewers must ensure AI tools used for peer review adhere strictly to confidentiality and do not risk exposure of sensitive manuscript content.
For Editors
Transparency and Disclosure:
Editors must disclose any significant use of AI tools during manuscript evaluation and decision-making processes.
Editors should specify the extent and context in which AI tools contributed to editorial decisions.
Accountability and Validation:
Editors retain full responsibility for final publication decisions, regardless of AI assistance.
Editorial decisions based on AI-generated information require thorough human validation and interpretation.
Ethical and Confidential Considerations:
Editors must ensure ethical use of AI in compliance with privacy, confidentiality, and institutional guidelines.
Editorial workflows incorporating AI tools must protect authors' and reviewers' confidentiality and data security.
