10.1 Purpose
Rupkatha Books recognises that Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is influencing scholarly research, publishing, translation, discovery, and knowledge dissemination. As a born-digital Open Access publisher, we embrace responsible technological innovation while affirming that scholarship must remain grounded in human creativity, critical judgement, ethical responsibility, and academic integrity.
This policy establishes the principles governing the responsible use of AI throughout the publishing lifecycle. It should be read together with the Publication Ethics Policy, Research Integrity, Open Science and Open Scholarship Policy, Authorship Policy, Plagiarism Policy, and other relevant publisher policies.
10.2 Scope
This policy applies to the use of Generative AI and comparable technologies in:
- research and manuscript preparation;
- translation and language enhancement;
- editorial and production workflows;
- peer review;
- metadata creation;
- digital publishing;
- multimedia development; and
- any future AI technologies performing similar functions.
The policy is technology-neutral and applies irrespective of the platform or software employed.
10.3 Appropriate Uses of AI
Authors, editors, translators, and publishing staff may use AI responsibly for purposes including:
- language editing;
- grammar and style improvement;
- translation assistance;
- accessibility enhancement;
- coding assistance;
- metadata generation;
- reference formatting;
- document organisation;
- summarisation of non-confidential material; and
- other routine publishing tasks.
The originality, interpretation, analysis, conclusions, and scholarly arguments of a publication must always remain the responsibility of its human authors.
10.4 Unacceptable Uses
AI must not be used to:
- fabricate or falsify research;
- invent references or citations;
- generate fictitious evidence;
- manipulate research images or data deceptively;
- conceal plagiarism;
- impersonate authors, reviewers, or editors;
- create fraudulent authorship;
- submit AI-generated work as original human scholarship; or
- circumvent legal or ethical requirements.
Such practices constitute serious breaches of the publisher’s ethical standards and may result in editorial action under the Publication Ethics Policy.
10.5 Human Responsibility
Regardless of the extent of AI assistance, authors remain fully responsible for:
- the originality and accuracy of their work;
- verification of all facts, citations, and references;
- compliance with copyright and licensing requirements;
- critical evaluation of AI-generated outputs;
- ethical use of AI technologies; and
- all published content bearing their names.
Responsibility for scholarly work cannot be delegated to an AI system.
10.6 Disclosure of AI Use
Authors should disclose any substantial use of AI that has materially contributed to the preparation of a manuscript, including the generation of text, images, computer code, translations, datasets, or multimedia content.
Routine spell-checking, grammar correction, formatting assistance, or similar editorial support normally does not require disclosure.
Editors may request additional information where clarification is necessary.
10.7 AI and Authorship
Artificial Intelligence systems cannot satisfy internationally recognised criteria for authorship.
Accordingly, AI systems:
- shall not be listed as authors or editors;
- cannot own copyright;
- cannot approve manuscripts;
- cannot accept responsibility for published work; and
- cannot disclose conflicts of interest.
Only natural persons may be recognised as authors or editors of publications issued by Rupkatha Books.
10.8 AI-Generated Images and Multimedia
Where AI-assisted images, illustrations, diagrams, audiovisual materials, or other digital content are included in a publication, authors should disclose their use where it is substantial and ensure that such material:
- complies with copyright and licensing requirements;
- respects intellectual property rights;
- is not misleading or deceptive;
- accurately represents the scholarly record; and
- meets the publisher’s ethical standards.
Manipulation of research images or other evidence in a misleading manner is strictly prohibited.
10.9 AI-Assisted Translation
Rupkatha Books supports multilingual scholarly communication and recognises that AI-assisted translation can improve access to research.
However, translators remain fully responsible for:
- linguistic accuracy;
- disciplinary terminology;
- cultural and contextual interpretation;
- scholarly precision; and
- the quality of the final translated work.
AI may assist the translation process but cannot replace scholarly expertise.
10.10 AI in Editorial and Peer Review
Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff shall protect the confidentiality of unpublished scholarly material. Confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, proposals, or unpublished research should not be uploaded to publicly accessible AI systems unless appropriate safeguards, legal protections, and author permissions are in place.
Editorial decisions and peer-review reports must always represent independent human judgement.
10.11 Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Property
Users of AI systems shall exercise particular care when handling:
- unpublished manuscripts;
- confidential editorial correspondence;
- personal information;
- proprietary datasets;
- Indigenous knowledge;
- culturally sensitive materials; and
- other protected or confidential content.
All use of AI must comply with applicable laws, contractual obligations, and the publisher’s policies concerning privacy, confidentiality, copyright, and intellectual property.
10.12 Future-Ready Scholarly Publishing
Rupkatha Books recognises that AI will increasingly contribute to semantic publishing, multilingual scholarship, accessibility technologies, intelligent metadata, knowledge graphs, research discovery, and other emerging forms of scholarly communication.
The publisher is committed to adopting trustworthy and human-centred AI technologies that strengthen accessibility, discoverability, preservation, interoperability, and research quality while safeguarding academic freedom, editorial independence, and public trust.
10.13 Editorial Oversight
Editors may request clarification regarding AI use at any stage of the editorial process.
Where AI raises concerns relating to originality, authorship, copyright, confidentiality, research integrity, or ethical conduct, the manuscript may undergo additional editorial evaluation. Failure to disclose substantial AI use where required may constitute a breach of the publisher’s ethical policies.
