9th November 2023

Are we human, or are we Robot? How to Spot AI-Generated Content

The world today is awash with AI-generated content. The text, and now even the images we are surrounded with every day are increasingly being created, at least partially, by AI. As fascinating and impressive as it is, the ability to distinguish between human and AI-generated content is crucial, not only for people trying to decipher fact from fiction on social media or websites but also for businesses aiming to build authentic relationships with their audience. Here are our top points to look out for when trying to identify AI content.

1. The Unmistakable Perfection of AI Content

The first giveaway of AI-generated content is that it often looks ‘too perfect to be true’. While we at Gemstone, strive for excellence in our website and mobile app development projects, you can always find a unique human touch in our text and code creations. AI-generated text on the other hand, tends to be overly polished, lacking the imperfections and nuances that make human writing relatable.

2. Repetitive and Redundant Phrases

AI often has a habit of getting ‘stuck’ on certain phrases. It’s like when you’re building an app, and you find yourself reusing the same code snippet. In written content, this manifests as repetitive and redundant phrases (something we’re careful to avoid in our content).

3. Lack of Depth and Personal Insight

Personal anecdotes and deep insights are the soul of engaging content. For example, I could tell you the story of a blog post I wrote and submitted to a partner company for publication which was rejected multiple times for being too ‘AI’, despite having been written by me, who on last check was very much a human. I did go down a bit of an existential rabbit hole for a good few weeks after that. AI, for all its impressive advancements, still struggles to connect in this area.

4. Inconsistencies in Style or Subject Matter

Consistency is crucial in writing. AI-generated content sometimes lacks the flow and sense that humans bring to a text, veering off-topic or changing styles abruptly. Whilst this of course can still happen in human-authored texts, it is less common in something that has been well thought out and put together.

5. Overuse of Keywords

While optimising content for SEO is vital, AI tends to overdo it. AI-generated content often ends up sounding unnatural, with unnecessary and jolting inclusions that a human author would never have made.

6. Lacking Nuance

AI doesn’t have great social awareness and can easily misinterpret nuance or context in requests. If the responses you get from an ‘advisor’ seem to be from someone who doesn’t really understand what you’ve asked, or if it fails to address you as the user appropriately, or offers generic perspectives not tailored to your situation, you’re probably not speaking to a real person.

The skill of identifying AI content is becoming increasingly important in an age where what we see online impacts everything about how our societies operate.

The ability to discern between human and AI content not only helps us identify real from ‘fake news’, but also helps us to understand how our world is being shaped by artificial intelligence. As more and more jobs are at risk from the increasing use of AI, it’s essential that we don’t lose our appreciation for the unique value that human creativity brings to the table.

And we’ll leave you with this question- was this blog post written by a human, or by AI? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Gemstone are a digital development company based in Hertfordshire, UK.