One of AI’s favorite ways of phrasing arguments is to first state a negative, like what something is not, and then follow it up with what it is.
For example, I asked ChatGPT to write something about the greatness of Indian culture. Its very first sentence in response was: “Indian culture is great not because it is ancient, but because it has remained remarkably open to evolution while retaining a deep continuity with its past.”
Another, a few sentences later: “India has never been a single cultural expression. It is a vast mosaic of languages, cuisines, philosophies, artistic traditions, customs, and beliefs.”
And then another: “But the greatest strength of Indian culture may lie not in what it achieved in the past, but in its capacity to absorb, adapt, and renew itself.”
And another: “The greatness of Indian culture, therefore, is not a claim of superiority over other cultures. It is the recognition of a remarkable civilizational resilience: the ability to preserve continuity without demanding uniformity, to encourage questioning without abandoning tradition, and to absorb diversity without losing a sense of identity.”
In my observation this is not the usual way we write. This style is visible in most LinkedIn posts which can be marked “AI slop” right away.
But as humans are reading more and more AI generated content, we are beginning to write like AI as well, and the style is creeping into human-written content, which feels like a degradation of quality if you are particular about linguistic standards.
What are some common free AI style phrasings that put you off?
