General principles

The Revista de Defesa da Concorrência (RDC) recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including generative and assistive systems, may contribute positively to academic production, provided they are used responsibly, transparently, ethically, and in a manner compatible with the principles of scientific integrity.

The RDC does not prohibit the use of AI tools in the preparation process of articles submitted to the journal. However, it reaffirms that intellectual authorship, scientific responsibility, academic integrity, and ethical, legal, and editorial responsibility for the content of the manuscript belong exclusively to human authors.

AI tools, including language models, do not replace the authors’ intellectual activity, do not assume responsibility for the content produced, and may not be used in a way that compromises the originality, verifiability, accuracy of information, or methodological rigor of the article.

The RDC adopts guidelines for the use of generative artificial intelligence tools in the manuscript preparation process, based on CNPq’s Policy on Integrity in Scientific Activity, established by Portaria CNPq nº 2.664/2026.

Use of AI tools by authors

Authors may use generative or assistive AI tools in the manuscript preparation process, provided that such use is aligned with the ethical principles of scientific research and is declared clearly and objectively.

The following uses are permitted, among others:
a) writing assistance, when the tools are used to review, paraphrase, translate, organize, standardize, or improve content originally prepared by the authors;
b) support for bibliographic research, provided that the authors assume full responsibility for the selection, verification, reading, interpretation, and critical analysis of the sources used;
c) support for formatting and textual organization, including formal adaptation, standardization of references, organization of sections, and language review;
d) support for exploratory analysis, systematization of data or information, provided that the procedures are verifiable, transparent, and compatible with the methodology declared in the article;
e) support for the creation of images, charts, tables, graphs, or other visual elements, provided that such use is expressly indicated in the manuscript, with a description of the tool used and how it was employed.

The use of AI does not exempt authors from critical review. All content generated, reviewed, or suggested by these tools must be carefully verified before submission.

Authorship and responsibility

Artificial Intelligence tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors under any circumstances, since they do not have the capacity to assume ethical, legal, scientific, or editorial responsibility for the content of the manuscript.

All content presented in the article, even when prepared with AI support, is the sole responsibility of the authors, who must ensure:
a) the originality of the work;
b) the truthfulness, accuracy, and integrity of the information presented;
c) the proper citation of the sources used;
d) the absence of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or improper manipulation of data;
e) the methodological, theoretical, and argumentative coherence of the manuscript;
f) the ethical appropriateness of the use of data, images, information, and references.

The use of AI tools does not exempt authors from any academic, scientific, legal, or editorial responsibility before the RDC.

Transparency and duty of disclosure

Whenever AI tools are used at a relevant stage in the preparation of the article, authors must disclose such use in a concise, clear, and objective manner within the manuscript itself, in addition to the authorship declaration during the submission process.

The disclosure must indicate, whenever applicable:
a) the tool used;
b) the purpose of its use;
c) the stage of the work in which it was applied;
d) the form of human verification or review of the content generated or assisted by the tool.

The disclosure in the text should preferably be made:
a) in the Methodology section, when the use of AI is related to data analysis, empirical procedures, construction of results, or preparation of figures, charts, tables, or graphs;
b) in a footnote or in a final section of the text, before the References, when AI is used to support writing, grammatical review, formal standardization, textual organization, or translation.

Deliberate omission of the relevant use of AI may lead to editorial measures, including requests for clarification, requirements for correction, rejection of the manuscript, or application of the journal’s ethical rules.

Use of AI by editors and reviewers

RDC editors and reviewers may use AI tools exclusively as internal and auxiliary support for editorial activities, such as initial screening, organization of information, support for editorial management, formal verification, or preliminary identification of inconsistencies.

The use of AI to replace human assessment of the scientific merit of the manuscript or to automatically prepare reviews, editorial decisions, or substantive evaluations is prohibited.
RDC editorial decisions are always made by human beings, who assume full responsibility for them.

The use of AI by editors and reviewers must respect the confidentiality of the editorial process, the protection of authors’ and reviewers’ data, as well as the integrity of the peer-review system.

Prohibited uses and ethical considerations

The use of Artificial Intelligence tools is expressly prohibited for:

a) fabricating, manipulating, or falsifying data, results, evidence, citations, or references;

b) generating texts, images, tables, graphs, or other elements that cannot be verified, validated, or duly attributed;

c) producing misleading, artificially inflated, inaccurate content or content incompatible with scientific rigor;

d) concealing human authorship, simulating nonexistent intellectual production, or unduly attributing authorship responsibility;

e) distorting results, arguments, or conclusions;

f) violating copyright, data protection, confidentiality, or ethical standards applicable to scientific research.

Policy update

Considering the dynamic and evolving nature of Artificial Intelligence technologies, this policy may be periodically reviewed and updated by the RDC Editorial Board, in light of national and international guidelines on editorial best practices, academic integrity, and scientific ethics.