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> Recently I was accused of using AI to produce something because of my use of em-dash Absolutely absurd of them to accuse you of using AI just because you use
by StableAlkyne 2y ago
> Recently I was accused of using AI to produce something because of my use of em-dash
Absolutely absurd of them to accuse you of using AI just because you used punctuation above a middle school level.
- 0_____0 2y agoAI reliably uses em-dash, normal people writing generally do not, even if they know what they are, because it's more complicated to insert them. So yeah, there's a reason it's known as a "tell."
- perihelions 2y ago- "normal people writing generally do not" You're generalizing inappropriately across cultural boundaries. Is the author of the OP article an abnormal human? Does "normal" mean "of average writing level"—is it now socially acceptable to ostracize and bully people who write well? Because, when you're accusing people of being bots (like the HN parent related), that's a seriously unpleasant form of bullying. It's dehumanizing, quite literally. (When you write with sincerity, you pour your own humanity into your words; what does it mean to deny that?)
- 0_____0 2y agoThis is an incredibly overwrought response. You could just as easily read the inverse of "normal" to be "exceptional," which in fact is how I meant it.
- StableAlkyne 2y agoI routinely use em-dashes in technical/scientific writing. The GP was talking about a false accusation in university — a place where you generally produce formal writing. >it's more complicated to insert them Word automatically replaces the hyphen with it when between words surround by space — because it's the correct punctuation. I sincerely hope you don't believe it's too complicated when the task is done for you by Word — the most popular word processor. Additionally — just to test it out — long pressing hyphen yields the character on my phone. This has allowed me to effortlessly pepper this reply with slightly extended — and a touch controversial — horizontal lines. Just because your writing style doesn't use em dashes — a rule taught to literal school children — doesn't mean it's not "normal." Finally, I am sorry to report that my use of the em-dash has not allowed me to transcend humanity and become a cyborg — though I will return with a follow up post if I suddenly sprout a Serial port.
- bobwaycott 2y agoHeh. This would have been just a bit more fun if you’d used it correctly—without the surrounding spaces.
- LudwigNagasena 2y agoThat depends on your style guide.
- richardatlarge 2y agochatGPT has a strange allergy to the semicolon— never uses them. that’s why it overuses and misuses the em-dash
- K0balt 2y agoThese days I just use a dash and it gets autocorrected into an em-dash. So I guess AI put tithe em-dash there, but it didn’t write my essay.
- acheron 2y agoiOS autocorrects -- to an em dash. It's not complicated at all.
- 0_____0 2y agoI wasn't aware of this entry mode. That seems more reasonable than digging around in the mobile keyboard next to "±" and "₱" when it comes to commonplace use.
- account-5 2y agoI write in quarto markdown so en-dash is '--' and em-dash is '---' with is converted for me.
- vincent-manis 2y agoMy spelling is generally very good, and I know the difference between “e.g.” and “i.e.”. I guess I'm an AI.