Gen AI Policy

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), including large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI systems, continues to develop rapidly and is increasingly used in academic research, writing, and scholarly communication.

Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam recognizes the opportunities offered by Generative AI tools, particularly for supporting idea generation and exploration, improving language expression for authors writing in a non-native language, assisting literature classification, supporting coding, and accelerating aspects of the research and scholarly communication process.

This policy provides guidance for authors, editors, and peer reviewers regarding the responsible and ethical use of Generative AI in the publication process. The policy may be updated periodically in response to developments in AI technology, research ethics, copyright, and scholarly publishing standards.

Generative AI tools can generate various forms of content, including text, images, audio, synthetic data, computer code, and other digital materials. Examples include ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and other comparable AI-based tools.

Although Generative AI can support academic work, its use also involves risks that authors, editors, and reviewers must carefully consider.

1. Risks Associated with Generative AI

The current use of Generative AI may involve several risks, including:

  1. Inaccuracy and bias. Generative AI systems are probabilistic rather than inherently factual and may produce inaccurate information, fabricated references, hallucinations, or biased content that can be difficult to identify and correct.
  2. Lack of attribution. AI-generated content may not adequately identify or attribute the original sources of ideas, quotations, arguments, or references. Authors remain responsible for verifying and properly citing all scholarly sources.
  3. Confidentiality and intellectual property risks. Some Generative AI platforms may not provide sufficient guarantees concerning confidentiality, data security, copyright, or intellectual property protection.
  4. Unintended use of submitted information. Information entered into AI systems may potentially be retained, processed, or reused by service providers. Authors, editors, and reviewers should therefore avoid submitting confidential, unpublished, proprietary, or personally identifiable information to AI systems unless adequate safeguards are in place.

2. Authors

Authors are fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, validity, and integrity of their manuscripts. The use of Generative AI does not transfer or reduce the authors' responsibility for the submitted work.

When Generative AI tools are used, authors must:

  • critically review and verify all AI-generated or AI-assisted content;
  • ensure that all factual claims, citations, references, quotations, and interpretations are accurate;
  • ensure that the manuscript reflects the authors' own scholarly contribution and intellectual responsibility;
  • comply with applicable copyright, intellectual property, research ethics, and publication ethics requirements; and
  • disclose the use of Generative AI transparently in accordance with this policy.

2.1. Permitted Uses

Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam permits the responsible use of Generative AI tools for purposes such as:

  • idea generation and exploration;
  • language improvement and proofreading;
  • assistance in expressing scholarly content in a non-native language;
  • interactive literature searching using AI-enhanced search systems;
  • literature classification and organization;
  • coding assistance; and
  • other limited forms of research or writing support that do not replace the author's intellectual and scholarly responsibility.

The use of Generative AI must always remain under meaningful human oversight. Authors must independently evaluate, revise, and validate the output generated by AI tools.

2.2. Disclosure of Generative AI Use

Authors who use Generative AI tools in preparing a manuscript must clearly disclose such use in the article.

The disclosure should include:

  1. the full name of the AI tool used;
  2. the version of the tool, where available;
  3. the specific purpose or manner in which the tool was used; and
  4. the reason for using the tool.

For journal articles, the disclosure should be included in the Methods or Acknowledgments section, as appropriate.

An example of an acceptable disclosure is:

Generative AI Disclosure: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of AI tool, version] to assist with [e.g., language improvement/grammar checking/idea exploration]. All AI-generated or AI-assisted content was critically reviewed, verified, and revised by the authors, who remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, interpretation, and integrity of the published work.

2.3. Generative AI Cannot Be an Author

Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam.

Authorship requires human responsibility for the intellectual content of the work, accountability for the submitted manuscript, consent to publication, and responsibility for copyright, licensing, and research integrity. Generative AI systems cannot independently assume these responsibilities.

2.4. Prohibited or Unacceptable Uses

Authors should not submit manuscripts in which Generative AI has been used to replace core researcher or author responsibilities.

Examples of unacceptable use include:

  • generating substantial text or code without rigorous human review and revision;
  • generating or fabricating research data;
  • using synthetic data to replace missing or unavailable original research data without a scientifically justified and transparently reported methodology;
  • generating inaccurate or unverified abstracts, conclusions, references, supplementary materials, or other substantive components of a manuscript;
  • fabricating citations or references through AI-generated content;
  • using AI to misrepresent the authors' intellectual contribution; and
  • concealing the use of Generative AI when disclosure is required under this policy.

Such cases may be subject to editorial investigation and may constitute a violation of research or publication ethics.

2.5. Images, Figures, Tables, and Original Research Data

Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam does not permit the use of Generative AI to create or manipulate images, figures, or original research data for publication.

This restriction applies to, but is not limited to:

  • photographs or illustrations;
  • charts and graphs;
  • tables containing research results;
  • diagrams and other research figures;
  • medical or scientific imagery, where applicable;
  • snippets or portions of images;
  • computer-generated visual materials;
  • computer code when presented as part of a figure; and
  • formulas or other visual research elements.

AI-based manipulation includes augmenting, concealing, moving, removing, replacing, or introducing specific features into images or figures.

Original research data must be obtained, processed, and reported through scientifically appropriate research procedures and must not be fabricated or generated by AI to substitute for actual research evidence.

2.6. Human Oversight and Research Integrity

The use of Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in any part of the research and publication process must always involve human oversight, critical evaluation, and transparency.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that their research complies with accepted standards of scientific rigor, methodological validity, research ethics, and publication integrity.

3. Peer Reviewers

Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam is committed to maintaining high standards of peer-review integrity, confidentiality, and transparency.

Peer reviewers must not upload manuscripts, manuscript excerpts, unpublished research data, figures, tables, reviewer comments, or other confidential information obtained through the peer-review process into Generative AI systems.

The use of such information in external AI systems may compromise:

  • manuscript confidentiality;
  • authors' intellectual property rights;
  • unpublished research findings;
  • personally identifiable information;
  • copyright; and
  • the integrity of the peer-review process.

Generative AI may be used by peer reviewers only for limited assistance with language improvement of their own review comments, provided that no confidential manuscript content or information is entered into the AI system.

Peer reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, fairness, originality, confidentiality, and integrity of their reviews.

4. Editorial Responsibility

Editors of Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam may assess the use of Generative AI in submitted manuscripts when concerns arise regarding originality, accuracy, authorship, research integrity, data authenticity, or compliance with this policy.

The journal reserves the right to request clarification or additional information from authors concerning their use of Generative AI.

Where there is evidence of inappropriate or undisclosed use of Generative AI, the journal may conduct an editorial investigation in accordance with its publication ethics and applicable scholarly publishing standards.

5. Policy Updates

Generative AI technologies and scholarly publishing practices continue to evolve. Tawazun: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam will periodically review and update this policy to ensure that the use of Generative AI remains consistent with principles of academic integrity, research ethics, intellectual property, confidentiality, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication.