Clues That Indicate Whether a Piece of Writing Was Written by an A.I.
AI could even write a finished article or page, and the technology that developed in the decades that followed paved the way for a flourishing of AI-powered writing software. But while this technology is remarkable, AI-generated content generally comes with telltale signs that separate it from human writing. Whether you’re a teacher, editor or just someone interested in detecting A.I.-generated text, here are some major clues to look for.
1.Something about the wording feels the same in every response
AI likes to re-use phrases and structures, resulting in repeated language that feels inhuman. It may also employ unusual phrases that don’t reflect the context adequately or sound a bit mechanical. If something is written in a strange way, repeating the same ideas or phrases all the time, it could be an indication of an AI-generated text.
2.Missing in Personalized Touch or Unique Insights
AI cannot tell true personal experiences, feelings or opinion. It can write like a human, sure, but often lacks the depth and subtlety of real-life journalism and storytelling. If an article is full of generic targets and has no real-world examples, personal anecdotes, or strong opinions, then the chances of it being written by AI are very high.
3.Excessively Flawless Grammar and Sentence Structure
AI-generated text tends to have perfect grammar, punctuation and sentence structure, almost too perfect. While this is a good thing in a sense, human writing often has little imperfections, variations in sentence length, and an overall flow that sometimes doesn’t quite live up with AI.
4.Out of originality or too much common sense
AI sometimes pulls from widely available information, resulting in text that is technically factual but not original. Turn-up for the inevitable mundane stuff is a key signal for this: if you come across a piece of writing with a rigorous headline about things we already know, probably generated by an AI model.
5.Inconsistent Tone and Style
Though AI can replicate different tones, it does not always switch between them gracefully in the same piece. One sentence will read formally, the next will be a throwaway phrase, in a manner that can startle. By contrast, human writers tend to have a voice that is more consistent across their writing.
6.Difficult with Complicated or Abstract Matter
AI is good at summarizing straightforward topics, but it falters on abstract concepts, deep analysis, or philosophical discussions. If the writing does not take a firm stance on an issue or its arguments are too much superficial, this could be a clue of AI use.
7.Overuse of Passive Voice
AI content tends to be thick with passive voice which makes the prose feel distant or non-human. Human writers use a combination of active and passive voice to create variety, while AI may lean too heavily on passive constructions, making for fewer natural-sounding sentences.
8.Weird or Inaccurate Facts
AI writing tools are trained on historical data, but they make mistakes and churn out outdated infomation. If a text contains strange claims or factual errors that don’t make sense, it’s always worth checking to see where it’s coming from.
How To Validate What You Suspect
In case you suspect that a certain written material is the product of AI, here are a few ways to check that:
- Text with Human and AI Comparison
- Uses AI detection tools
- GPTZero
- Copyleaks AI Detector
- ZeroGPT
- Turnitin AI Detection
- These are a few online tools that can analyze text and give an estimation of whether it was written by AI.
- Look for citations or sources: With AI, you sometimes get fake references or no sources at all.
- Check the writer’s track record: If the author typically writes with a particular flair but suddenly sounds robotic, it could be AI-generated.
Final Thoughts
Writing generated by AI is becoming more advanced, but it still has clear tells and idiosyncrasies. By watching for hints of the structure, tone, originality, and consistency that AI-generated text lacks, you can usually tell if a piece was created by machines or a human being. As AI development progresses, telling AI-generated content apart from human-crafted work will require sharper eyes still but, for now, these clues may help you distinguish one from the other.