The Biggest Tell That Something Was Written By AI
The article discusses the increasing prevalence of AI-generated writing in everyday communication and professional settings. While many people express distrust towards AI writing, its efficiency and polished output are leading more individuals to adopt it as a tool. The author argues that relying on AI can undermine the critical thinking process inherent in human writing.
- ▪AI-generated writing is becoming common in personal texts, emails, and even literary submissions.
- ▪Many writers now view AI as a tool similar to spell-check, despite initial hesitations.
- ▪The efficiency of AI writing can make it feel untrustworthy to readers, as it lacks the human thought process.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
TechnologyThe Biggest Tell That Something Was Written By AILooks closely and you’ll see that everything is equally off.By Eve FairbanksIllustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.May 29, 2026, 7 AM ET ShareSave A few weeks ago, where I live in Johannesburg, a man ran a stop sign and crashed into my Subaru. At the scene he was frantic, unable to gather his thoughts. Half an hour later, I received a lengthy, perfectly grammatical text from him elegantly explaining how he perceived the crash had happened. For a repair quote, I wrote to a mechanic I know, a man who used to text me in curt phrases riddled with shorthand. I got a response using just the same voice as the man who’d crashed into me—the distinctive voice of AI.In surveys, people consistently say they distrust AI-generated writing.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Atlantic.
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