1. Guiding Principles

JUITA's AI policy is grounded in academic integrity, transparency, and the accountability of human authors. All authors are expected to observe the following principles:

• Human intellectual responsibility. Authors remain responsible for the research question, methodology, exegesis, argumentation, interpretation, and conclusions.
• Original scholarly contribution. AI must not substitute for the author's independent critical engagement with biblical texts and relevant scholarship.
• Accuracy and verifiability. All biblical references, quotations, historical claims, linguistic analyses, and bibliographic information must be independently checked against reliable sources.
• Transparency. Substantive use of generative AI must be disclosed accurately in accordance with this policy.
• Accountability. Human authors retain full responsibility for the integrity and final content of their manuscripts.

2. Permitted Uses of AI

AI may be used as a supporting tool for legitimate scholarly activities, provided that its use does not undermine originality, accuracy, or authorial responsibility.

AI-generated suggestions must be critically evaluated rather than accepted uncritically. Authors must independently determine whether each suggestion is accurate, relevant, and appropriate for their research.

3. Prohibited Uses of AI

JUITA prohibits AI use that compromises scholarly integrity, misrepresents research, or undermines the originality of a manuscript. Prohibited practices include:

AI systems must not be listed as authors. They cannot accept accountability for the manuscript, approve its final version, or respond as responsible authors to concerns about accuracy and research integrity.

4. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI in preparing a manuscript. The disclosure should identify the tool used, describe its purpose, and explain the extent of human review and verification.

Routine spelling and grammar correction alone may be treated differently from AI-assisted drafting, analysis, or interpretation. Authors must follow any additional disclosure instructions provided by the journal.

The statement must accurately reflect the actual use of AI. Authors must not list tools that were not used or omit substantive AI contributions that require disclosure.

5. TRINKA AI Screening Procedure

JUITA uses TRINKA AI as a screening aid within its initial editorial assessment. The reported score is considered together with the manuscript, the author's disclosure, and other relevant evidence.

1. Initial editorial screening.
   The editorial team checks the manuscript's scope, compliance with author guidelines, completeness, originality, and AI-use disclosure.
2. TRINKA AI assessment.
   The manuscript is screened using TRINKA AI. A reported score of 20% serves as the journal's internal initial screening threshold.
3. Scores at or below 20%.
   The manuscript may proceed to further editorial assessment if it satisfies the journal's other requirements. Passing this threshold does not guarantee acceptance or publication.
4. Scores above 20%.
   The editor may examine flagged passages and request an explanation, revision, or resubmission for further screening. The score alone is not grounds for automatic rejection.
5. Human review and author response.
   The editor considers the available evidence, the nature of the flagged content, and the author's explanation. Authors must receive a reasonable opportunity to respond before an adverse decision is made on suspected AI misuse.
6. Final editorial decision.
   Decisions are based on the overall scholarly quality, originality, verifiability, disclosure, and integrity of the manuscript, not solely on a detection score.

6. Responsibilities of Authors

By submitting a manuscript to JUITA, authors affirm that they:

• Have read and complied with this AI Policy.
• Retain responsibility for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their scholarly contribution.
• Have verified references, quotations, biblical-language claims, and other factual assertions, including AI-assisted suggestions.
• Have disclosed substantive AI use accurately and completely.
• Will provide reasonable clarification about their use of AI when requested by the editorial team.
• Accept full responsibility for the submitted manuscript and its final published version.

7. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must assess manuscripts fairly, maintain confidentiality, and exercise independent scholarly judgment. AI detection scores must not be treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct.

Unpublished manuscripts, confidential peer-review reports, and identifiable personal information must not be uploaded to external AI tools unless the use is authorized and consistent with confidentiality and applicable data-protection obligations.

Reviewers remain responsible for their evaluations and must not delegate confidential peer-review judgments to AI systems.

8. Violations and Editorial Actions

Potential violations will be assessed according to the available evidence, the seriousness of the concern, and the author's response. Depending on the circumstances, JUITA may:

• Request clarification or a corrected disclosure statement.
• Require revision and verification of sources or claims.
• Return a manuscript for further editorial screening.
• Reject a manuscript when substantive concerns remain unresolved or a breach of publication ethics is established.
• Apply appropriate publication-ethics procedures to serious concerns involving an already published article.

Editorial action must be proportionate to the evidence and consistent with the journal's publication ethics and established editorial procedures.

9. Policy Review and Updates

JUITA recognizes that AI technologies and detection methods continue to evolve. This policy may be reviewed periodically to maintain scholarly rigor, transparency, fairness, and responsible publication practices.

Authors are responsible for consulting the current version of this policy before submitting a manuscript.