If you've been anywhere near AO3 recently, you've probably encountered AI writing at some point. As somebody who writes for, primarily, the ER fandom (and occasionally the Pitt, too), I've noticed a concerning trend over the last few days: AI-generated fanfiction clogging the tags.
Firstly, I'd like to say that if you ARE posting fics on AO3 that were AI-generated, and you're passing them off as your own, please stop. I know this is not likely to actually resonate with you if this IS you, but on the off-chance that you do see this- please use tags as intended and make it clear that you're using AI.
Secondly, before I go into some AI tells in detail, I want to preface this with a warning- just because you see one or two of these in a fic, there's no guarantee that it was AI-generated. Please approach the matter of flagging fics with care, because the last thing I want is to incite a witch hunt against innocent people just engaging in fandom.
However, when seen in tandem, these signs should act as a warning to think a little more deeply about what you're reading, and ask the question- was this human written?
1. Em-dashes
I'm getting this one out of the way quickly because it's something easily identifiable, but it should by no means discredit a fic on its own. Real people can use em-dashes, but ChatGPT uses them a LOT. Like, a distracting amount. And they're often used in conjunction with...
2. 'Not' qualifiers
ChatGPT doesn't do 'yes, and'. It seems to work off 'no, but' instead (sorry @pagingdoctorcarter , like an AI, I am stealing your phrase here. But I do have the decency to credit, I suppose!).
Take this sentence I've come up with right now:
Carter was so exhausted he was struggling to stand, legs trembling with the strain of keeping him upright.
AI might write something like this (using my own creative license here because I don't want to feed the beast):
Carter was exhausted— not the regular exhaustion that came with twelve hours on his feet. Something deeper. Heavier.
3. Repetitive phrases.
AI is not original, so it can't come up with anything original, of course. This means that it relies on basic phrases it uses over and over and over again e.g 'the kind of (blank) that (blank)'
4. The classic 'concrete noun' + 'abstract noun' combo
For reasons that I can't quite understand, AI adores this. Some humans include this combo in their work, too, but AI does it even more frequently. Some real phrases I've encountered so far include:
"a story about meatballs and betrayal"
"champagne and anxiety soaked into the upholstery"
5. Anachronisms and inaccuracies
This is especially present in a fandom like ER, where most of the time we're writing about the 90s, and this CAN be attributed to genuine human error... but if Carter is repeatedly 'swiping' on his phone screen to open a call, and everyone's always texting... could be AI.
In a similar vein, if someone is shouting 'code blue!' for things that AREN'T cardiac arrest, or mixing up names and even hallucinating random characters- think 'maybe AI'.
6. Short sentences, short paragraphs, short chapters.
AI doesn't have the ability to understand how paragraphs are structured for ease of reading and flow. So it likes short sentences. Snappy sentences.
And not just when the situation suits it. But always.
If there's a hell of a lot of paragraphs, it could be AI. AI doesn't like including many clauses. At all.
7. Generic similes and phrases that don't mean anything at all
This relates to the 'concrete noun + abstract noun combo' but, more generally, AI produces writing that veers away from specifics. It won't often describe places in too much detail, and when it comes to similes, it uses simple, overused ones OR spouts a series of words that are meaningless. If you see an abstract simile in a fic, take a second. Is it abstract because it's complex and has several layers, or is it utterly meaningless?
8. A crazy update schedule
This one is less reliable because it IS possible to bank chapters and then post a lot in one go, but if an author is posting many thousands of words in the span of a few days, consider this a small red flag- especially in conjunction with the other things mentioned. It could mean they're just pumping out AI-generated writing, and this allows them to move far quicker than any human.
9. Overly mushy dialogue
AI is a thief, but it's a happy-go-lucky thief. Characters speak like they stepped straight off Sesame Street at times, lacking any kind of emotional complexity.
10. Awful, awful jokes
AI cannot write jokes. It simply cannot. If you read a joke in a fic that feels Disney-Channel esque but also doesn't make sense at all? It very well could be AI.
For instance:
Nobody talks like this.
Also, note the 'concrete noun + abstract noun' combo again here! (This actually was an AI fic as confirmed by author before deletion, not naming them here): 'gauze and intuition'.
Conclusion
Be vigilant. Don't fall for AI crap and, if you disagree with the concept of AI work clogging AO3 tags, definitely don't leave kudos.
And if you're posting this stuff, yet again I ask you politely, please STOP.
I've put together a compilation of all the Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy) drowning whump scenes from 3x15, 3x16, and 3x17 for everyone's viewing pleasure.
I've omitted the scenes of Meredith's afterlife/limbo bits to focus on just the whump, but if anyone wants a video of those just let me know.
the girl you just accused of "not having any hobbies" has actually been getting really into laying alone in the dark and obsessively ruminating on her abjection past and present lately
Update: after I reblogged this someone messaged me offering me tickets to the sold out Hausu screening with a Q&A and autograph session with the director
