Generative AI Policy

Jurnal Ulumuna: Jurnal Studi Keislaman recognizes that the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools and advanced language models presents significant opportunities for advancing scholarly communication. However, these technologies also pose new risks to research integrity, transparency, and accountability. Drawing on the insights from the STM Association's 2023 White Paper on Generative AI in Scholarly Communications and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Position Statement on Authorship and AI Tools, Ulumuna establishes a comprehensive policy regarding the use of GenAI across all stages of manuscript preparation, peer review, editorial decision-making, and post-publication activities. This policy ensures that the benefits of GenAI, such as enhanced efficiency in language improvement and data synthesis, are applied while upholding the highest scholarly standards, ethical responsibility, and intellectual ownership.

Acceptable AI Use and Responsibilities for Authors

Authors submitting to Ulumuna may utilize GenAI tools for routine tasks such as grammar correction, style consistency, and reference formatting without the need for explicit disclosure, provided such usage does not alter the intellectual content or conceptual contributions of the manuscript. However, any substantial use of GenAI that contributes to shaping the research narrative, generating new textual passages, performing data analysis, creating figures, or influencing the conceptualization of the study must be disclosed. Authors should include a dedicated "AI Contributions" subsection within the Methods or Acknowledgments section, detailing the tool used, its version, the provider, and the specific nature of its input and output. GenAI tools cannot be credited as authors, as they lack legal personhood and the ethical responsibility to bear accountability for scholarly claims. Human authors are ultimately responsible for all content, including AI-assisted elements, and must ensure the accuracy, originality, and appropriate citation of AI-generated content.

Editorial and Peer Review Protocols

Editorial staff and peer reviewers at Ulumuna are also held to strict ethical guidelines to maintain confidentiality and uphold the integrity of the review process. The use of public GenAI platforms for plagiarism detection, confidentiality checks, or automated decision-making is prohibited due to concerns about the transparency of their training data and uncertain data retention policies. Editors may use publisher-approved AI services, subject to formal agreements that ensure proper safeguards regarding manuscript confidentiality, intellectual property, and data security. All editorial decisions must rely on human judgment, with AI outputs serving as informational tools but never replacing the expertise of the editors or reviewers. Reviewers are explicitly prohibited from submitting unpublished manuscripts to public AI platforms or using such platforms to generate review reports, in order to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the review process. Should a reviewer suspect substantial undisclosed AI usage by an author, they are required to report their concerns to the handling editor, in accordance with COPE's guidelines on suspected AI misuse in peer review.

Scholarly Transparency

Ulumuna encourages readers and the broader academic community to respect the limits of GenAI usage. Readers are discouraged from submitting full-text Ulumuna articles to public AI models to safeguard the intellectual property of the authors and protect the confidentiality of unpublished data. Published articles that feature substantial AI-assisted contributions will include a footnote clearly indicating the extent of AI involvement, enabling readers to assess the source and reliability of the findings.

Future Revisions

Compliance with this policy will be monitored through periodic audits of published content, and COPE's flowcharts will be followed to address any ethical violations. Instances of undisclosed or improper AI use may prompt Ulumuna misconduct procedures, including corrections, retractions, or other remedial actions. As GenAI technologies continue to evolve, Ulumuna will review and update this policy biennially or in response to significant technological or ethical changes. With these provisions, Ulumuna reaffirms its commitment to fostering innovation while preserving the core values of transparency, accountability, and scholarly excellence.