The Revista Tecnológica Espol - RTE^® AI policy, is declared in response to the rapid growth of generative and AI-assisted tools and is aimed to reflect current best practices and to ensure transparency in their use during the editorial process. Its purpose is to offer clear guidance for authors, reviewers, editors, and readers regarding acceptable and responsible use of AI. The journal will continue to observe technological developments and will revise the policy whenever necessary.

For Authors
Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted tools to support manuscript preparation, provided these technologies do not replace human expertise, judgment, or originality. While AI tools can help synthesize literature, generate ideas, or improve clarity, authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, fairness, and completeness of any AI-generated content, ensuring that all contributions genuinely reflect their own analysis and insights. They must also safeguard data privacy and intellectual property by reviewing the terms and conditions of any AI tool used.

Responsible use requires authors to avoid inputting confidential or personally identifiable information into AI systems and to refrain from generating images, voices, or content that may infringe on others’ rights. Authors must also ensure that AI tools do not impose restrictions that could limit the publication of the final manuscript. Transparency is essential: all substantive use of AI tools must be disclosed in a dedicated statement, specifying the tool, purpose, and the level of human oversight, although simple grammar or spelling checks do not require disclosure. AI tools cannot be listed or cited as authors, as authorship entails responsibilities only humans can fulfil, also stated in our RTE Code of Ethics (5.9 - RTE Code of Ethics).

For Reviewers
Reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and their own review reports as strictly confidential documents. They may not upload any part of a manuscript—or any content from their review—into generative AI tools, as doing so could violate author confidentiality, proprietary rights, or data privacy. Peer review requires human judgment, critical thinking, and independent evaluation; therefore, generative AI or AI-assisted technologies must not be used to assess the scientific content of a paper, since these tools may produce inaccurate, incomplete, or biased conclusions. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their reports as stated in our RTE Code of Ethics (2. Responsibility of the reviewers – RTE Code of Ethics).

While authors may use AI tools during manuscript preparation with proper oversight and disclosure, reviewers should rely solely on their expertise when evaluating the work.

For Editors and the editorial process
Editors must follow similar principals as the reviewers when managing the entire editorial process: selecting reviewers, overseeing evaluations, making final decisions, and communicating outcomes. Editors also have the responsibility to act if they suspect misuse of AI by authors or reviewers following the RTE Code of Ethics (6. Appeals and complaints – RTE Code of Ethics). 

The Revista Tecnológica Espol - RTE^® integrates AI and AI-assisted tools into its publication workflow to streamline tasks and enhance the experience of authors, reviewers, and editors. These technologies help match manuscripts with appropriate reviewers, detect duplicate submissions, and recommend alternative publication venues when needed. AI also assists staff in performing initial technical checks, ensuring adherence to submission requirements, and supporting research-integrity evaluations.

AI is additionally used after acceptance to aid in tasks such as preparing proofs, copyediting, and flagging inconsistencies in finalized manuscripts. However, all editorial and publication decisions remain under human supervision, with AI functioning only as a supportive tool rather than a decision-maker.