Does the Shy Girl Mess Mean We Give Up the Em Dash?
21 hours ago
- #Em Dash Controversy
- #Author Protection
- #AI in Writing
- The author faced severe backlash, including death threats, over a guest post about AI vs human writing, with many assuming she was promoting AI without reading the article.
- AI's frequent use of em dashes has led some to wrongly label works with em dashes as AI-generated, though this stems from AI training on contemporary writing, which often uses em dashes instead of formal punctuation like colons.
- The controversy around the novel 'Shy Girl' and its cancellation by Hachette highlights concerns that AI 'tells' (such as inconsistent voice, poor pacing, or unnatural dialogue) may also be signs of amateurish human writing, potentially leading to unfair accusations.
- Authors can protect themselves from false AI accusations by focusing on authentic dialogue, proper pacing, unique voice, and avoiding irrelevant details or overused metaphors, as suggested by Dr. Jeremy Esekow's findings.
- AI detectors are unreliable, as demonstrated by false positives like Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, raising fears of unwarranted witch hunts against writers, especially those with less polished styles or neurodiverse backgrounds.
- The author and commenters advocate for preserving the em dash as a legitimate writing tool, emphasizing that its use does not indicate AI involvement and reflecting broader concerns about creativity and human authorship in the age of AI.