Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Civil Engineering Science and Technology (CEST) recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies have become valuable tools for supporting academic writing, language editing, data processing, coding assistance, and research productivity. The journal encourages the responsible and transparent use of AI while maintaining the principles of academic integrity, originality, accountability, and human intellectual contribution.  Authors, reviewers, and editors remain fully responsible for all scholarly content regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies have been used during the research or publication process.

AI Use by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies to support activities such as:

  • Improving grammar, spelling, and language quality.
  • Enhancing readability and writing clarity.
  • Translating manuscripts.
  • Assisting with computer programming or code generation.
  • Supporting statistical analysis or data visualization.
  • Organizing references or literature summaries.
  • Brainstorming ideas during manuscript preparation.

The use of AI must always remain under the direct supervision of the authors.

Authors are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy, completeness, originality, and scientific validity of all AI-assisted outputs.

Prohibited Uses of AI

CEST does not permit the use of AI technologies to:

  • Generate or fabricate research data.
  • Fabricate experimental results.
  • Create fictitious references or citations.
  • Produce misleading figures, tables, or images without disclosure.
  • Manipulate research findings.
  • Generate peer review reports on behalf of reviewers.
  • Replace critical scientific interpretation or scholarly judgment.
  • Circumvent plagiarism detection or publication ethics policies.

Any confirmed misuse of AI may constitute research misconduct.

Disclosure of AI Use

If AI-assisted technologies have been used during manuscript preparation beyond routine language editing, authors should disclose their use in an appropriate section of the manuscript, such as the Acknowledgements or a dedicated "AI Disclosure Statement."

An example statement is:

The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) to improve the readability and language of the manuscript. All scientific content, data analysis, interpretations, and conclusions were independently reviewed and verified by the authors, who accept full responsibility for the published work.

Failure to disclose substantial AI assistance may lead to editorial investigation.

AI Cannot Be an Author

Artificial intelligence tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek, or similar systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

AI systems do not meet internationally accepted authorship criteria because they cannot:

  • Accept responsibility for published work.
  • Approve the final manuscript.
  • Respond to editorial correspondence.
  • Manage conflicts of interest.
  • Assume legal or ethical accountability.

Only individuals who satisfy recognized authorship criteria may be listed as authors.

Human Responsibility

Regardless of AI assistance, authors remain fully responsible for:

  • The originality of the manuscript.
  • Accuracy of the data.
  • Validity of the methodology.
  • Interpretation of findings.
  • Ethical compliance.
  • Proper citation of sources.
  • Compliance with all editorial policies of CEST.

The use of AI does not transfer responsibility from authors to software providers.

AI Detection

As part of the journal's Editorial Quality Assurance process, CEST may evaluate submitted manuscripts using AI writing detection tools. The AI detection score is used solely as an editorial indicator to assist editors in identifying manuscripts that may require additional assessment.

Editorial decisions are never based exclusively on AI detection scores.

Instead, editors evaluate the manuscript holistically, considering scientific quality, originality, writing consistency, methodological rigor, transparency, and evidence of meaningful human intellectual contribution.

AI Use by Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts into publicly available AI systems or generative AI platforms without explicit authorization from the editorial office. Reviewers are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all manuscripts throughout the review process. If AI tools are used to improve the wording of review reports, reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, confidentiality, and fairness of their evaluations.

AI Use by Editors

Editors may use AI-assisted technologies to support administrative or editorial tasks, including:

  • Language refinement.
  • Workflow assistance.
  • Reference checking.
  • Editorial communication.

However, AI shall never replace editorial judgment. All editorial decisions—including desk rejection, reviewer selection, acceptance, revision requests, or rejection—are made solely by qualified editors.

Ethical Use of AI

CEST supports the ethical, transparent, and responsible use of artificial intelligence in scholarly publishing. The journal encourages authors to use AI as a supporting tool rather than a substitute for scientific thinking, research design, analysis, interpretation, or academic writing. Responsible AI use should strengthen research quality while preserving academic integrity, transparency, and public trust in scientific communication.

Policy Updates

As artificial intelligence technologies continue to evolve rapidly, CEST reserves the right to revise this policy periodically to align with recommendations issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Crossref, and other internationally recognized scholarly publishing organizations.