El Capacho Scientific Journal recognizes the growing presence of generative artificial intelligence tools in the contemporary academic environment as a technological reality that is fundamentally transforming research processes, writing, and production of scientific knowledge in science and technology disciplines. This transformation presents both significant opportunities to improve efficiency and quality of academic communication as well as important challenges for maintaining standards of integrity, originality, and transparency that characterize high-quality scientific publication. In response to this emerging reality, the journal establishes comprehensive guidelines that seek to balance responsible utilization of artificial intelligence capabilities with preservation of fundamental ethical principles that sustain credibility of the scientific record. These guidelines have been developed considering emerging international best practices, recommendations from prestigious editorial organizations, and the need to maintain academic community trust in the authenticity and rigor of scientific publications.

Declaration and Usage Limits

El Capacho Journal permits limited and declared use of generative artificial intelligence tools, recognizing that these technologies can provide valuable assistance in specific aspects of the research and academic communication process, provided their utilization is conducted transparently, ethically, and within established parameters that preserve scientific integrity and authorial responsibility. This conditional permission reflects a balanced approach that recognizes both the beneficial potential of AI tools and risks associated with their inappropriate use, including the possibility of generating inaccurate content, dilution of authorial responsibility, and introduction of biases or systematic errors that may compromise the quality of published scientific knowledge. Established limits seek to ensure that AI use complements rather than substitutes genuine intellectual work of researchers, maintaining creativity, originality, and human disciplinary expertise as central elements of academic production. These guidelines apply to all forms of generative artificial intelligence, including large language models, image generation systems, literature synthesis tools, and any other technology that can generate academic content in an automated manner.

Textual Content

Every manuscript submitted for evaluation that has used generative artificial intelligence tools for generation, modification, or improvement of textual content must explicitly declare this during the submission process, using the specific "Author Declarations" section established on the editorial platform to guarantee complete transparency about methodologies and tools employed in academic work production. This declaration must include detailed information about specific tools used, specifying commercial names, versions, and manufacturers when applicable, as well as precise description of manuscript sections that incorporated AI assistance, specific purpose for which technology was used, and degree of subsequent modification performed by human authors to adapt, verify, or improve generated content. Text generated through artificial intelligence may not exceed ten percent of the manuscript's total word count, excluding bibliographic references, titles, subtitles, and footnotes, establishing a quantitative limit that ensures human intellectual contribution remains the predominant element in academic work. This limit applies to final published content after any human modification, and authors must provide precise word counts demonstrating compliance with this restriction, including methodology used to calculate these percentages when content has been substantially modified after initial AI generation.

Visual Content

Images, graphs, data visualizations, diagrams, conceptual schemes, and any other visual element generated through artificial intelligence tools must be explicitly declared in corresponding image captions, providing complete and transparent information that allows readers, reviewers, and the academic community in general to clearly understand the technological origin of these materials and appropriately evaluate their scientific validity and relevance to arguments presented in the work. This declaration must include specific identification of the tool used for generation, specifying the AI system name, employed version, generation date, and any specific parameter or instruction used to produce visual content. All visual elements generated by AI must have properly guaranteed usage rights, requiring verification by authors that utilization of these tools and subsequent publication of generated materials complies with terms of service of used platforms, does not infringe intellectual property rights of third parties, and is compatible with open access licensing policies adopted by the journal. The Editorial Committee will evaluate each visual element generated by AI to determine its scientific pertinence, methodological validity, and appropriate contribution to academic content, considering factors such as accuracy of data representation, communicative clarity, adherence to disciplinary visualization standards, and absence of elements that may induce erroneous or biased interpretations of presented information.

Bibliographic References

The use of artificial intelligence tools for management, search, formatting, or generation of bibliographic references is subject to rigorous verification procedures that guarantee accuracy, completeness, and authenticity of all cited information, recognizing that AI systems may generate non-existent, incorrect, or incomplete references that compromise scientific record integrity and hinder readers' ability to verify and expand upon presented work. Authors maintain absolute responsibility for rigorous verification of each reference generated through AI, including confirmation of actual existence of cited publications, verification of accuracy of all bibliographic elements such as authors, titles, dates, pages, and digital identifiers, and verification that citations effectively support assertions made in the main text. Any reference that cannot be completely verified must be eliminated from the manuscript immediately, and authors must implement systematic verification procedures that include direct access to original sources, consultation of reliable academic databases, and when necessary, contact with authors or editors to confirm specific publication details. Authors must also verify that AI use for bibliographic management has not introduced systematic biases in literature selection, ensuring that included references appropriately represent the state of knowledge in the thematic area and do not reflect limitations or biases inherent in datasets used to train employed AI tools.

Verification Process

The journal implements a systematic and multifaceted verification process that combines advanced technological analysis, specialized editorial evaluation, and enhanced peer review to detect, evaluate, and validate appropriate use of generative artificial intelligence tools in received manuscripts. This process includes analysis through specialized software for AI-generated content detection, using advanced technological tools that can identify linguistic patterns, textual structures, and stylistic characteristics typical of different generative artificial intelligence systems, providing probabilistic evaluations about possible artificial authorship of different manuscript sections. Specific editorial review of content declared as AI-generated involves expert evaluation by the editorial team to determine whether use of these tools is appropriate for the specific scientific context, meaningfully contributes to academic work, and maintains appropriate standards of accuracy and reliability. The peer evaluation process is strengthened with particular attention to sections incorporating AI elements, providing reviewers specific information about declared use of these tools and requesting specialized evaluation about validity, precision, and academic contribution of artificially generated content. Reviewers receive specific guidance on how to evaluate work incorporating AI elements, including criteria to determine whether use is appropriate, whether results are reliable, and whether integration with human content is effective and transparent.

Ethical Considerations

The Editorial Committee evaluates each case of generative artificial intelligence use applying a comprehensive ethical framework that considers multiple dimensions of academic, scientific, and social impact to determine whether utilization of these tools contributes positively to knowledge advancement or presents unacceptable risks for scientific publication integrity. Pertinence of AI use in the specific research context is evaluated considering factors such as the nature of the academic discipline, specific study objectives, employed methodologies, and established expectations within the field for use of advanced technological tools. Added value that AI brings to academic work must be clearly demonstrated, showing that utilization of these tools has significantly improved quality, precision, efficiency, or scope of research in ways that would not have been possible through exclusively human traditional methodologies. Transparency in AI use declaration is evaluated not only in terms of completeness and precision of provided information but also in terms of intellectual honesty demonstrated by authors in recognizing technological contributions to their work. Compliance with established limits is rigorously monitored, and violations are considered indicators of broader academic integrity problems that may require additional investigation. Originality and authenticity of work as a whole must be preserved, ensuring that AI use complements rather than substitutes creativity, insight, and human expertise that constitute the core of genuine academic value.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with this generative artificial intelligence policy may result in a series of progressive corrective measures that reflect the seriousness with which the journal considers transparency and academic integrity violations in the context of emerging technologies. Immediate manuscript rejection constitutes the standard response for significant violations including undeclared AI use exceeding established limits, generation of false or misleading content through AI tools, or any form of deliberate concealment of these technologies' use that compromises reviewers' and readers' ability to appropriately evaluate presented work. Retraction of already published articles is implemented when post-publication discovery reveals that authors violated AI policies in ways that invalidate work conclusions, compromise result reliability, or represent a form of academic fraud requiring correction of the scientific record. Temporal or permanent restrictions for future submissions apply to authors demonstrating non-compliance patterns, deliberately deceptive AI use, or resistance to comply with transparency requirements established by the journal. Notification to authors' affiliated institutions is performed in cases where violations suggest need for institutional intervention, additional training in academic ethics, or broader investigation of research practices that may extend beyond the specific case under consideration. All these measures are implemented following due process procedures that provide appropriate opportunities for authors to respond to allegations, present evidence in their defense, and participate in resolution processes seeking outcomes that protect both individual rights and scientific record integrity.

Policy Updates

The journal reserves the right and assumes responsibility to regularly update this policy as artificial intelligence technologies evolve, new tools and capabilities emerge, best practices develop in the international academic community, and gaps or improvements needed in the current framework are identified. These updates will reflect the journal's continued commitment to responsible adoption of emerging technologies that may benefit scientific communication while preserving fundamental principles of integrity, transparency, and academic quality that characterize publications of international prestige. The updating process will include consultation with experts in academic ethics, educational technology, and artificial intelligence, as well as review of emerging literature on best practices in scientific publication in the generative AI era. Policy modifications will be communicated timely through all official journal channels, including the main website, email notifications to registered authors, announcements on academic social networks, and communication through relevant professional associations and networks. Important changes will be implemented with appropriate transition periods that allow authors to adapt their practices, and specific guidance will be provided on how to interpret and apply updated policies in different contexts and scenarios.

Adherence to this policy forms an integral part of the publication terms of El Capacho Scientific Journal and its acceptance is mandatory for all authors submitting manuscripts for consideration, establishing an ethical and legal contract governing responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies in the context of academic communication and scientific knowledge production. This adherence implies not only technical compliance with established specific requirements but also commitment to broader principles of academic integrity, intellectual transparency, and scientific responsibility that sustain credibility of the entire academic enterprise in science and technology disciplines that constitute the journal's editorial focus.