Recent developments in artificial intelligence technology have brought us many conveniences, but they have also sparked discussions about the accuracy and credibility of AI-generated texts. Especially in academia, AI-written texts are often seen as a shortcut, but the potential problems of this shortcut cannot be ignored. Wikipedia, as a platform based on trust and human reliability, explicitly prohibits articles written by AI and has compiled a list of linguistic "signs" that can reveal AI writing characteristics.
AI-generated texts often sound exaggerated in tone, frequently using repetitive wording to emphasize the importance of a particular content. For example, AI may use words such as "important" or "of historical significance," which are usually rather stiff. In addition, AI-generated paragraphs often end with concise conclusions or opinions, giving a feeling similar to high school essays, rather than the writing style of professional encyclopedias. Many common transition words such as "Additionally," "Also," make the text seem more formal, even rigid, while human editors tend to use more natural expressions.
Format is also an important clue for identifying AI texts. AI-generated articles often contain too many lists, sometimes accompanied by unusual bullet points or numbering methods. The way chapter titles are written often uses title case (each major word is capitalized), while humans tend to prefer simpler styles. Moreover, excessive use of bold text to emphasize certain phrases in AI writing is a method less commonly used by human editors. More interestingly, AI texts often contain overuse of em dashes, misplaced quotation marks, and even emojis mixed into titles.
Citations are often the fatal weakness of AI texts. AI may fabricate some false links, generate non-existent ISBNs or DOIs, and even cite "experts" who do not appear in the text. Sometimes, although some references are mentioned in the text, they are actually not listed in the article. Additionally, errors in specific Wikipedia markup, such as improper use of templates or categories, can expose traces of AI writing. In general, AI-generated texts are usually more predictable and lack personalized expressions compared to human-created content.
Although these signals themselves are not conclusive evidence, if multiple similar features are found in the text, it is usually worth paying attention to.
Key points:
🌟 AI texts often use exaggerated tones and common repetitive wording to emphasize importance.
📋 AI-generated articles have peculiar formats, with excessive use of lists and unusual formatting methods.
🔗 Citations often contain fabricated links and false references.
