Gen Z discovers hack to reveal who’s using ChatGPT — and this common punctuation mark is the telltale sign of AI writing

NY Post ^ | April 14, 2025 | Brooke Steinberg

[alexander_busek]

I bought a motorcycle; life is too short 5o care about safety. [...] I bought a bike b3cause life is too short to care about safety [...] Ther3 are other uses too

We all stand in awe before your superior command of English orthography and punctuation!

Regards,

[alexander_busek]

There's There are over 450 of them in Pride and Prejudice alone

Depends upon the version you are referencing. E.g., the serialized version contains a whopping 465 em dashes. I know because I just counted them.

(Heh-heh!)

Regards,

P.S. Did you folks know that ChatGPT and Co. can read your FR comments even before you have officially posted them? It's true!

[alexander_busek]

I was taught in English class that a dash is to be used when nothing else is perfectly fitting.

So your frowsy old "Mrs. Jensen" (who got her B.A. in English and degree in teaching from a 3rd-rate state college, and who was, at best, a "C student") is your definitive, "go-to" source?

Regards,

[alexander_busek]

[...] our professors would gratuitously mark up our papers [...]

So, "without good reason," or "free of charge?"

gra·tuit·ous·ly

[ɡrəˈtjuːɪtəsli]

adverb

without good reason; unjustifiably:

"artefacts were gratuitously destroyed" · "gratuitously insulting remarks"

free of charge:

"his care was provided gratuitously"

Regards,

[Bob434]

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Fat fingers and small keyboard- but thanks for showing us all how superior you are- rega4ds

[gloryblaze]

You hardly know whether my English teacher was an A student or a C one, or whether or not she was “frowsy.”

But I am very, very good at punctuation, whether by school lessons or by reading excellent writers.

[CodeToad]

Words like “insane” tell me the age of the writer.

[mewzilla]

Who needs AI when we have Weird Al...

Word Crimes

[fuzzylogic]

Get over yourself.

Jeez....do you really believe I was trying to be perfect in a COMMENT? I’m a hell of a lot more educated than you on other topics.