Policy on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Writing

1. General Principles

MENTOR establishes this policy to regulate the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation. This policy applies exclusively to the writing process and does not refer to AI-assisted tools used for data analysis, statistical processing, or other research activities.

Generative AI may be used only for linguistic support, such as improving clarity, coherence, readability, or grammar. All AI-assisted outputs must be handled under human oversight, judgment, and control. Authors remain fully responsible for reviewing, verifying, and validating any content generated or modified by AI tools, since these technologies may produce text that is inaccurate, incomplete, biased, unverifiable, or fabricated.

In accordance with international standards for authorship, AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, nor can they be cited as such. Authorship in MENTOR requires intellectual contribution and ethical responsibility that only human contributors can assume.

2. Transparency and Disclosure Requirements

Authors must explicitly disclose any use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools employed during manuscript writing. The disclosure must:

• Appear in the main manuscript file.

• Be placed before the References section.

• Be presented under the heading:
  “Declaration of Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process.”

This declaration is mandatory whenever AI is used for drafting, editing, rephrasing, reorganizing text, or any activity related to scientific writing.

The declaration is not required when authors use standard tools such as spelling and grammar checkers, reference managers, or similarity detection software.

3. Recommended Disclosure Statement

Authors should include a statement similar to the following:

Declaration of Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process
During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL/PLATFORM] for [SPECIFIC PURPOSE, e.g., improving text clarity, reorganizing paragraphs, enhancing readability]. After using this tool, the author(s) thoroughly reviewed, edited, and validated the content and accept full responsibility for all aspects of the publication.

4. Final Author Responsibility

Authors are fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, reliability, and scholarly integrity of the manuscript. Any inappropriate use of generative AI—including fabricated data, nonexistent citations, unverifiable statements, or unreviewed text—will be treated as a serious ethical breach and may result in manuscript rejection or actions consistent with MENTOR’s editorial policies and COPE guidelines.