1. Authorship and Responsibility

• GenAI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of any manuscript.
  
• Authors are fully responsible for the content of their submissions, including text, figures, and data generated or modified using AI tools.
  
• The use of such tools does not absolve authors from accountability for accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance.
  

2. Acceptable Use

Authors may use GenAI tools only for supportive purposes, such as:

• Improving grammar, language, or structure of the manuscript;
  
• Generating code snippets, calculations, or visualizations that are verified by the authors;
  
• Summarizing or organizing references (with proper verification and citation).
  

All AI-generated outputs must be carefully reviewed and validated by the authors before inclusion in the manuscript.

3. Prohibited Use

GenAI tools must not be used to:

• Fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data, images, citations, or results;
  
• Generate full manuscripts or sections without human oversight;
  
• Replace critical reasoning, scientific interpretation, or peer review.
  

Manuscripts found to contain AI-generated, unverifiable, or fabricated content will be rejected or retracted in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

4. Declaration Requirement

Authors must include a clear statement in their manuscript if GenAI tools were used during any stage of writing or analysis.

Example statement:
Portions of this work were assisted by the use of [tool name, version, and provider], used solely for [purpose, e.g., language editing or coding assistance]. The authors reviewed and take full responsibility for all content.

5. Editorial and Review Use

Editors and reviewers of JInnovTrans may use GenAI tools only as decision-support systems, not as replacements for human evaluation. All editorial decisions will continue to be made by qualified experts.

6. Ethical Oversight

This policy aligns with the principles of:

• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidance on AI use in scholarly publishing (2023)
  
• Elsevier and Springer Nature GenAI disclosure recommendations (2024)
  
• YÖK Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive