Art. 1 (Purpose). These Regulations set the principles and procedures governing use of generative AI (“AI”) by the Journal’s (JEARC) authors, reviewers, and editors, so as to prevent research-ethics problems and promote responsible scholarship.

Art. 2 (Definitions). (1) “Generative AI” means any AI service that generates new content—text, images, code, audio, or media (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). (2) “User” means any submitting author and any reviewer or editor in the review and editorial process. (3) “Usage record” means material verifying the scope, purpose, tool name, version, user, prompts, and manner of AI use (logs, captures, links, summaries).

Art. 3 (AI Tools and Authorship). (1) AI shall not be listed as an author or co-author, nor credited with an author’s responsibilities. (2) AI cannot take responsibility for the work, declare conflicts of interest, or hold copyright and licences. (3) Authorship—and accountability for the work’s accuracy, integrity, and originality—rests solely with the human author(s).

Art. 4 (Basic Principles). (1) AI cannot replace the author’s own thinking and scholarly judgment; its output must be clearly distinguished from the author’s contribution. (2) Passing AI output off as one’s own research, or submitting it verbatim, may constitute misconduct (plagiarism, fabrication, falsification). (3) AI shall in principle serve only as a support tool (grammar/style, summarization, search, ideation); final responsibility for accuracy, argument, interpretation, and expression rests with the author. (4) Users shall fact-check output and review it for bias, discrimination, hate, and hallucination. (5) Users shall not input non-public, personal, internal-Journal, or credential data into AI.

Art. 5 (Permitted and Prohibited Uses). Permitted: ① editing of expression, grammar, style, formatting, and draft structuring; ② keyword suggestions and brainstorming of research questions; ③ summarization and translation assistance (author re-verifies quotations and interpretations). Prohibited: ① submitting AI output unmodified as text, tables, figures, or appendices, or delegating the author’s substantive role to AI; ② generating or citing non-existent references, or entering citations unverified; ③ generating content that infringes others’ rights (copyright, portrait, moral rights); ④ defamation, hate, discrimination, or false/manipulated information; ⑤ criminal misuse such as hacking or illicit materials.

Art. 6 (Disclosure and Declaration). (1) Where AI produces sentences, translations, summaries, tables, figures, code, or data reflected in the work, the author shall disclose the fact and scope. (2) Disclosure shall appear in a dedicated statement immediately before the References, stating at minimum: tool name, version, provider; date; purpose and manner; and the parts affected. (3) Where AI is central to the research (digital humanities, text mining, data generation), it shall also be described in Methods; where it only aids writing, it may be noted in the Acknowledgements. (4) Where used for search, brainstorming, or ideation not individually attributable, the fact shall be stated in the Acknowledgements. (5) Purely assistive grammar, spelling, or reference-formatting tools need not be declared.

Art. 7 (Accuracy, Bias, Hallucination). (1) Because AI may produce plausible-sounding errors (hallucinations), the author shall cross-check core facts, figures, quotations, translations, and interpretations against primary or reliable sources. (2) For citations and references, the author shall personally verify the existence, details, and content of any AI-suggested source. (3) Because output may contain bias, discrimination, or hate, the author shall review and revise it to protect scholarly neutrality and human rights.

Art. 8 (Copyright and Third-Party Rights). (1) Users shall ensure AI output does not infringe others’ copyright, personality, portrait, or data rights. (2) Where third-party tables, figures, images, translations, or data are used, the source shall be cited per the Journal’s rules and the rightsholder’s permission and licence terms observed.

Art. 9 (AI-Generated Images). (1) Creating or altering images, figures, or photographs with AI is not permitted, except as part of the research methodology. (2) AI shall not enhance, obscure, move, remove, or add image features, nor fabricate images presented as primary data. (3) Where exceptionally permitted, the tool, version, and provider shall be disclosed, prompts and all image versions retained, and AI generation stated in the figure legend.

Art. 10 (Confidentiality, Privacy, Security). (1) Users shall not input personal data, sensitive information (health, religion, politics), financial data, or credentials into AI. (2) Users shall not input non-public or internal materials; where necessary, de-identify or anonymize first. (3) Users shall check security risks when using browser extensions or external plug-ins.

Art. 11 (AI in Peer Review and Editing). (1) Reviewers and editors shall not upload or input a submitted manuscript, review materials, or any part thereof into AI services, as external transmission would breach confidentiality. (2) AI cannot replace a reviewer’s or editor’s critical thinking, independent evaluation, or final decision, for which they remain fully accountable. (3) Any supporting AI use shall be disclosed, and author confidentiality and rights protected at all times.

Art. 12 (Usage Records; Editorial Board Authority). (1) Where an author has used AI, the Editorial Board may request the usage record for ethics verification, and the author shall not refuse without justifiable cause. (2) On that basis the Board may request revision or decide against publication.

Art. 13 (Handling of Violations). (1) Violations shall be deliberated under the Journal’s research-ethics regulations and Research Ethics Committee, and may result in rejection, retraction, or a fixed-term submission ban. (2) Severity is assessed by: ① whether disclosure/attribution was made; ② degree of reliance on AI; ③ whether it is plagiarism/fabrication/falsification; ④ risk of rights-infringement or information leakage; and ⑤ intentionality.

Art. 14 (Supplementation and Amendment). These Regulations may be supplemented or amended through internal deliberation in response to changes in the scholarly environment, AI technology, and the Journal.

Art. 15 (Supplementary Provisions). (1) These Regulations take effect on 1 [Month] 2026. (2) Matters not specified follow the decision of the Editorial Board and the Research Ethics Committee