Digital Journal of Forensic Science (ReCiF) Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies, such as large language models (LLMs), chatbots, image generators, and others, do not meet the authorship criteria, particularly those related to accountability and consent, established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, 2023). Therefore, such tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of submitted works, and sources cited in the content of such publications may not be attributed to any AI tool.

Authors who use AI-assisted technologies, whether as part of their research or in the drafting and submission of their manuscripts, must clearly disclose such use in the cover letter and in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript. In addition, they must provide specific details in the section where the technology was used, such as the Methods section, including the full prompt used, where applicable, the AI tool employed, its version, and the date of use. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their work and must ensure that it contains no plagiarism and that all sources are properly cited. They must also carefully review the manuscript to identify and prevent potential biases introduced by AI.

Editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts if AI has been used inappropriately. Reviewers, referees, and editors, for their part, may not use AI technology to generate or draft their evaluations, as this could compromise the confidentiality of the manuscript.

AI-generated images and other multimedia materials are not permitted in ReCiF publications without prior authorization from the editors. However, exceptions may be granted in specific circumstances, such as manuscripts dealing with AI or machine learning. These exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be disclosed at the time of manuscript submission.

In general, ReCiF classifies the use of AI assistance into three levels: irrelevant, moderate, and substantial. Different use cases are grouped into these categories, which define the journal's position.

Irrelevant: Activities such as a) paraphrasing and refining manuscript content using spelling or grammar-checking tools and b) intelligent composition through predictive keyboards are broadly accepted and do not require disclosure.

Moderate: The use of AI tools to search for and generate literature reviews is acceptable provided that authors verify the content. Authors must review, revise, and add references as necessary to ensure consistency with the narrative of their manuscript. The generation of non-original content, such as definitions or descriptions of established concepts, may be acceptable, provided that authors verify its accuracy and appropriately cite the original sources.

Substantial: The use of AI assistants to generate new ideas and original text is not acceptable. A significant portion of generated content may be derived from existing works, raising concerns regarding originality, plagiarism, ownership, authorship, and copyright, whose broader implications and consequences for society are not yet fully understood.

ReCiF recognizes that this is a rapidly evolving field and that the journal's position regarding the use of AI-generated multimedia may change as copyright regulations and academic and industry standards concerning its ethical use evolve.

These policies follow the guidelines of Science and CEUR-WS and are inspired by the “ACL 2023 Policy on AI Writing Assistance” and the U.S. Copyright Office’s Guidance on AI-Generated Material (March 16, 2023). They also draw on Machin-Mastromatteo, J. D. (2023), as well as the article by Juan D. Machin-Mastromatteo, “Implicaciones y políticas editoriales de la inteligencia artificial,” Revista Estudios de la Información, 1(2), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.54167/rei.v1i2.1448

Committee on Publication Ethics. (2023b). Authorship and AI tools: COPE position statement. COPE Position Statement: Authorship and AI Tools