Erasing Individuality: The Uncanny Undertone of AI Writing Assistance
There is little doubt that GenAI can provide valuable services in certain areas e.g., by aiding and arguably empowering people who lack experience in say, writing business English or formatting CVs in specific ways, especially when applying for jobs that require submitting job applications online as is very common nowadays. However, it also creates uncanny language with a sensation of unease. Examples include employing idioms, phrases, or expressions that are used slightly incorrectly, or any other “slight but noticeable deviations from natural human writing can create a sense of disconnection and discomfort in the reader.” (ibid) Or, as Robertson (2024) puts it, “AI used to be weird. Now ‘sounds like a bot’ is just shorthand for boring.”
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