Generative AI Policy

The Benzena Pharmaceutical Scientific Journal (BENZENA) acknowledges the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) and AI-assisted technologies in many aspects of scholarly communication and scientific publishing. The policy is based on the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aims to ensure transparency, ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the publication process, and to maintain the highest standards of research integrity.
This policy concerns the use of AI at different stages of the publication process and highlights the responsibility of authors, editors, reviewers, and other relevant stakeholders for the content, accuracy, integrity, and originality of published work. BENZENA will periodically review and update this policy to ensure it remains relevant to technological developments, emerging best practices, and changing ethical standards and guidelines in scholarly publishing.
General Principles
The following principles govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by all individuals involved in the scholarly publication process:
• Human responsibility and accountability: Authors, reviewers, and editors retain full responsibility for their scholarly work, assessments, and editorial decisions, regardless of whether AI-assisted tools are used.
• Authorship: AI systems and tools, including generative AI applications, are not eligible for authorship or co-authorship. Authorship must be attributed exclusively to individuals who meet the applicable authorship criteria and assume responsibility for the work.
• Verification of AI-assisted content: Any content generated or assisted by AI must undergo thorough human review and verification to ensure its accuracy, completeness, originality, and appropriate handling of potential biases or inaccuracies.
• Confidentiality and data protection: The use of AI technologies must not compromise the confidentiality of manuscripts, intellectual property rights, personal information, research data, or other sensitive materials involved in the publication process.
• Transparency and disclosure: The use of AI tools in the preparation, review, editing, or other stages of scholarly publishing should be transparently acknowledged and appropriately disclosed whenever required by the journal's policies
For Author
Permitted Uses
• Language enhancement: AI tools may be used to improve grammar, spelling, clarity, readability, and overall language quality of the manuscript.
• Manuscript preparation and editing: AI-assisted tools may be utilized to support the editing and refinement of manuscripts prior to submission, provided that the authors retain full responsibility for the final content.
• Research-related image analysis: AI-assisted image processing, analysis, or interpretation may be employed when such applications form an integral and appropriately documented component of the research methodology.
Prohibited Uses
The following uses of artificial intelligence (AI) are not permitted in manuscripts submitted to or published by BENZENA:
• AI authorship: AI tools or systems must not be listed or credited as authors or co-authors of a manuscript.
• AI as a cited author: AI tools or systems must not be cited or referenced as authors of scholarly work.
• AI-generated or manipulated visual materials: Generative AI must not be used to create, alter, manipulate, enhance, or otherwise modify figures, images, graphical abstracts, illustrations, or other visual materials intended for publication, unless such use is explicitly permitted, scientifically justified, and transparently disclosed under the journal’s applicable policies.
• Unverified AI-generated content: AI-generated or AI-assisted content must not be incorporated into a manuscript without appropriate human review, verification, and validation. Authors remain responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, originality, and reliability of all content submitted for publication.
Disclosure Statement
Authors who utilize AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of their manuscript should provide a clear statement disclosing the use of such tools. For example:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool name] to assist with language refinement and improve the clarity and readability of the text. All AI-assisted outputs were critically reviewed, verified, and appropriately revised by the authors. The authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and final content of the manuscript."