The Homogenization of Internet Writing: AI's Subtle Fingerprints

How to preserve your voice in an age of algorithmic sameness

There's something strange happening to writing across the internet. Like noticing the weird fingers on AI-generated people in images, I'm increasingly spotting the telltale signs of AI-assisted writing everywhere I look. It's as if every post I read has been filtered through the same algorithmic lens, leaving behind a trail of stylistic breadcrumbs that scream "AI was here."

The New Linguistic Markers

After using AI writing tools substantially over the past year, I've begun to recognize patterns. The internet is suddenly full of writing quirks that were rare before but are now ubiquitous:

• An unprecedented proliferation of em-dashes separating thoughts

• False dichotomy statements beginning with "It isn't just..." followed by what it supposedly is

• Excessive use of superlative adjectives: "exceptional," "transformative," "revolutionary"

• Predictable sentence structures and article flows that follow the same formula

• Emoji-bulleted lists that all somehow look identical

• Starting paragraphs or thoughts with questions as a narrative device

• Overusing rhetorical questions throughout text to create artificial engagement

It's becoming the literary equivalent of those AI-generated hands with six fingers. Once you see the pattern, you can't unsee it.

Finding Your Voice Through the Noise

Making AI speak in your authentic tone takes significant effort, but it's worth it. You can immediately tell who hastily generates content versus those who carefully craft their AI interactions.

The best cases are those where you genuinely can't tell if AI was used. We should aim for this level of seamlessness when incorporating these tools into our writing process.

The Right Way to Use AI in Writing

AI makes an exceptional editor, not a replacement for your voice. It excels at:

• Grammar checking and sentence refinement

• Helping clarify thoughts and opinions

• Organizing thinking and breaking down complex ideas

• Serving as a thought partner to bounce ideas off

• Critiquing itself when asked to make writing more concise

One effective approach is creating a detailed prompt that specifies not just writing preferences but tone preferences and elements to avoid. Even then, the AI often misses the mark, requiring careful review, restructuring, and refinement.

Using AI as a thought partner, brainstorming companion, editor, and grammatical coach can be valuable. Using it to write entirely for you leads to those metaphorical "six-fingered" pieces that readers can spot from a mile away.

Substance vs. Style: The Human Element

The human author remains predominantly in the driver's seat. The ideas being conveyed are those of the author, not the AI. When AI misunderstands the point being made, it's often because the author hasn't clearly expressed their ideas. This feedback loop can be valuable for refining our own thinking.

Most AI-assisted writing does express the author's ideas. The problem occurs when those ideas get whitewashed through a monotone style that loses the author's unique voice.

I'm happy that most writing still offers thoughtful insights and unique perspectives. However, if you want your ideas to reach people, you need your voice, not just your points, to break through. Your unique perspective should be conveyed in the final work. The most effective AI-assisted writing preserves the author's distinct perspective and voice while benefiting from AI's structural and grammatical assistance.

The Homogenization Risk

The proliferation of AI writing creates a concerning negative feedback loop. As more AI-generated content gets published and potentially used to train future AI systems, writing will likely become increasingly monotone.

The content mills that transform headlines and company announcements into generic stories for clicks represent some of the worst offenders, as these lack both substance and style.

We risk entering an era where online writing resembles today's pop music: formulaic, predictable, and safe. While this standardization might work for technical documentation, formal reports, and code workflows, even these require disciplined human oversight to avoid mere regurgitation.

The Authenticity Challenge

My advice: use AI, but use it for the right things while finding your own voice through these tools. The world still needs creativity and authentic expression.

I'm writing this ironically with AI assistance. This serves as a reminder to myself to continuously iterate, improve, and find my voice through this technology. It's something I struggle with, but I've seen improvement comparing my older and newer writing as I've become more aware of the models' proclivities.

Now when I open an article, I can instantly sense how much the author leaned on AI. I can tell whether it was used for complete generation or just editorial assistance. It's even becoming close to the point that I can tell which model was used. The difference is palpable, as clear as spotting the quirks in AI-generated imagery.

Let this be a wake-up call to all of us who use these tools. We can embrace AI's benefits while maintaining our authentic voices and unique writing styles. Otherwise, we risk a future where everything reads like it was written by the same bland, overly polished entity. We face a future where writing loses the very human element that makes it meaningful.