Generative AI is Making Writing Deathly Boring

Using AI to write or rewrite your content? You probably sound just like everybody else.

Welcome to the first installment of the AI Research Beat. This is a regular series where I highlight an interesting study that sheds light on how AI is impacting work.

Writing is tedious, horrifying drudgery. It’s also rewarding and gratifying. But, you have to get past the hard parts first.

Is it any wonder that large language models (LLMs) have been welcomed by writers all over the world? Staring at a blank page? Ask Claude to help you get started. Struggling over word choice? ChatGPT is there to lend a helping hand.

I’m not against people turning to AI for writing help. Some may not be fluent English speakers. Others may have limited writing experience, or simply need a lot of assistance.

Then there’s using AI writing out of necessity. For example, I’m creating an AI educational skill building game called Clankyopolis. Players will learn by working through customized scenarios, generated on-demand. There’s no way I can write every word of the game’s copy. LLMs to the rescue.

But, there’s a problem with uncritically using LLMs for writing. Your unique voice is snuffed out. People complain your writing is flat. They’re right.

According to a new paper, “The Shrinking Landscape of Linguistic Diversity in the Age of Large Language Models,” by Zhivar Sourati of the University of Southern California and colleagues:

• Language provides valuable insights about people’s mental health, behaviors, and health status

• LLMs are eliminating this rich linguistic intelligence

• Generative AI models “homogenize writing styles,” making content less diverse and interesting

• When LLMs are used to '“polish and rewrite texts,” textual diversity and uniqueness decreases (translation: it’s boring)

• LLM text sounds like it was written by older liberal males; unique ethnic or cultural language traits are erased

As shown in the infographic below, since the advent of ChatGPT, writing complexity and diversity across ArXiv, Path Notes and Reddit declined sharply.

(Thanks to Sekoul Krastev of The Decision Lab for highlighting this study on LinkedIn.)

It’s All in the Edit

Generative AI is making our writing less diverse and terribly boring. What can we do about it? The answer isn’t shame or ridicule. People aren’t going to stop using AI to help them write.

Instead, people need to learn how to edit their AI-assisted content. Proper editing can retain a writer’s unique voice while increasing content accuracy and impact.

It’s popular for people to use ‘humanizing’ skills to remove obvious AI tropes from writing. This isn’t enough. The problems with AI-generated prose go way beyond removing em dashes and “it’s not X, but Y” phrasing. Improving AI writing requires a human touch.

I’m currently working on an online course, Beyond the Em Dash: How to Edit AI Writing Effectively. My course will feature guidance on how to deal with common AI writing weaknesses. Here are five tips from the course you can put to work right away.

• AI writing is wordy: Get to the point. Cut unnecessary fluff.

• AI copy is weak: Saying “nobody does X” is a cop out. Write with power. Use percentages, or specifics.

• AI copy is plagued by throat clearers: Phrases like “it seems like” add nothing. Delete them.

• AI copy is fearful: Descriptive, potent writing holds the reader’s attention and doesn’t waste their time.

AI-assisted writing is making everyone sound the same. Writing with purpose, power and precision (and having good editing skills) will put you ahead of the pack.

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This newsletter is part of the Doing AI Efficiently Operating System, built on five operational layers: Grasp, Discern, Ward, Execute, and Honor. This essay is part of the Discern layer, which focuses on helping you develop and practice good judgement when using AI.