The Biggest Tell That Something Was Written by AI AI-generated writing is becoming increasingly prevalent in everyday communication and professional fields, often used for its efficiency and grammatical perfection. However, this efficiency comes at the cost of genuine thought and deliberation, making the writing feel hollow and untrustworthy. The author suggests that human writing, with its traces of struggle and revision, possesses a deeper meaning and authenticity that AI cannot replicate.

• AI-generated writing is increasingly used in everyday life and professional settings like journalism, academia, and book publishing.
• While users claim to distrust AI writing, its efficiency makes it an irresistible tool for composing emails, applications, and even creative content.
• The ease and perfection of AI writing mask a lack of genuine thought and reasoning, making it difficult to edit and potentially misleading.
• Human writing, characterized by effort, struggle, and revision, contains meaningful insights and authentic thought processes that AI cannot replicate.
• The prevalence of AI writing may lead to a flattening of language and a shift towards valuing human-created text as an artisanal product.