Don't Be Fooled - How Not To Be Tricked by Something Written by an AI

 

As AI infiltrates our daily routines, it's crucial to be able to distinguish between human and machine-generated writing. Here are some tell-tale signs to watch out for:

Nuance is key: AI language models can produce coherent text, but they lack the nuance and subtleties of human writing. For example, a machine-generated news article might read like a straight-forward report, lacking the emotional appeals and storytelling elements that are often found in human-written pieces.

Redundancy is a red flag: AI models often repeat phrases and patterns to produce text. For instance, you might notice that a machine-generated piece on a product has the same phrase repeated multiple times, such as "The product is the best in its class."

Phrasing that falls flat: Although AI models are improving, they still struggle with phrasing and sentence structure. For example, a machine-generated opinion piece might have a choppy or stilted writing style, lacking the smooth flow and coherence of human writing.

No new ideas: AI models can only produce text based on what they've learned, so they often struggle to come up with original concepts. For instance, a machine-generated article on a trending topic might simply regurgitate information from other sources, lacking the insightful analysis and unique perspective that a human writer would bring.

By staying aware of these tips, you'll be able to spot AI-generated content and ensure that your information comes from trustworthy sources. Just keep an eye out for telltale signs!*

 

 

* Full Disclosure - this was 100% written by an AI. The prompt entered into ChatGPT was "Write an article for a newsletter about 300 words long. The title of the article is 'How not to be tricked by something written by an AI'. Write it from the perspective of a real person who knows about AI and has plenty of insight. Include examples. Make the writing style casual but authoritative along the lines of a New York Times opinion piece."

 

The future is already here.

 

Tim Martin is the Founder of net:101 - tim@net101.com.au