1. Basic Principles and Definition of Authorship

Düzce University Faculty of Forestry Journal of Forestry (DÜOD), in line with leading organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and JAMA Network, explicitly states that artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., Large Language Models, ChatGPT, etc.) cannot be listed as the “author” of an article.
Authorship requires intellectual contribution, responsibility, and accountability for the creation of a work. AI tools, however:
• Cannot bear legal or academic responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work,
• Cannot declare a conflict of interest,
• Cannot accept or manage legal obligations such as copyright transfer or licensing agreements.
For these reasons, an AI tool cannot meet the criteria for authorship and cannot be included in the list of authors.

2. Mandatory Disclosure

If AI tools are used at any stage of the article writing process (e.g., text creation/editing, idea development, data analysis, visual/graphic production), this use must be disclosed transparently.
Authors are required to provide the following information in the “Materials and Methods” section or a similar section (or in a footnote/acknowledgments section, depending on the nature of the work):
• Which AI tool was used (e.g., ChatGPT-4, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.),
• The tool’s developer company and version number,
• A brief explanation of the purpose and way the AI tool was used in the study.
This transparency is critical for understanding and evaluating the methodological integrity of the study.

3. Final Responsibility

Regardless of the use of artificial intelligence tools, authors are ultimately responsible for the entire content of the work they submit. This responsibility covers all text, ideas, data analyses, and visuals produced or edited by AI. Authors must check and verify content generated by AI to ensure the originality, accuracy, and non-plagiarism of the work. The use of AI does not eliminate authors’ responsibility for publication ethics violations (plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, etc.).