Use of Artificial Intelligence

Accepted Use of Artificial Intelligence in Manuscripts

The Libyan Journal of Dentistry recognizes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted tools are becoming part of how authors write and edit manuscripts. This policy sets out where AI may and may not be used, the disclosure required, and the indicative limits on the proportion of AI-assisted content.

Permitted Uses of AI

Authors may use generative AI or AI-assisted tools for:

  • Language editing, including the correction of grammar, spelling, and stylistic clarity;
  • Translation of the authors' own text between languages;
  • Summarization of the authors' own draft text for review;
  • Bibliographic formatting and reference-style conversion;
  • Routine code formatting and commenting, where the underlying logic was written by the authors.

Prohibited Uses of AI

AI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate or interpret scientific data, including statistical analysis or qualitative coding;
  • Produce original scientific arguments, hypotheses, or conclusions presented as the authors' own;
  • Write whole sections of a manuscript without substantive authorial input;
  • Create, alter, or enhance scientific images in a way that misrepresents the underlying observation;
  • Fabricate references, datasets, or quotations;
  • Generate peer-review reports or editorial decisions.

AI Cannot be an Author

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors of an LJD article and cannot accept the responsibilities that come with authorship. The authors take full responsibility for every word of the manuscript, including any text suggested or edited by an AI tool.

Indicative Limit on AI-assisted Content

  • ≤ 15% of the body text, as a working guideline for AI-assisted language editing of any single article.
  • 0% of the scientific content — AI may not contribute to the substantive scientific argument, the methods, the results, the analysis, or the conclusions.
  • 0% of the references — Every reference must have been read and verified by at least one of the human authors.
  • 0% of the figures — AI-generated figures are not permitted in scientific manuscripts unless the AI generation is itself the subject of the study and is clearly declared.

These limits are guidelines for honest authorial practice rather than mechanically enforced thresholds. The editorial office reserves the right to ask authors how AI was used and to decline submissions where AI use exceeds the spirit of this policy.

Required Disclosure

Authors must disclose every substantive use of AI in: the Methods section of the manuscript; the Title Page, under a dedicated heading "Use of Artificial Intelligence"; and Section 5.3 of the Author Declaration Form. The disclosure should state the name and version of the tool, the specific purpose for which it was used, and an explicit statement that the authors take full responsibility for the content.

Reviewer and Editor Use of AI

Reviewers and editors must not use AI tools to generate any part of their review reports or editorial decisions. They must not upload any part of a submitted manuscript to a public or third-party AI service, since doing so would breach the confidentiality of the submission.