· also published on Substack

I lose interest in a text the moment I realize it was written by an LLM.

This doesn’t depend on whether the text was carefully written by a human and then “streamlined” by an LLM; or whether it was pure slop through-and-through. Maybe it should matter, but it doesn’t, because I can’t possibly know which one it is.

All I know is that while I thought that I was reading a message from Jean-Marc, I stumbled upon a paragraph starting with “It’s important to emphasize that…” and then using an em dash to link two thoughts. I know Jean-Marc. Jean-Marc would never write this. Some people would, but not Jean-Marc. The illusion of hearing from another human is broken, and I’m so much less interested in the rest of the email.

I’m sure there is some evolutionary explanation to this.

We evolved in environments where it was crucial to keep track of relational dynamics of the group. We’re attuned to behaviors and emotional states of other people, because knowing what’s going on with our fellow early humans was instrumental to successful cooperation and eventual survival of the tribe. This innate interest in expressions of others doesn’t seem to extend to “expressive” automata. Machines weren’t around when we were trying to not get eaten on the savanna.

So when writing to humans, write like a human would.

Put together words in a way that expresses something about you: who you are, what you want to say, and what’s the emotional undertone you mean to convey. That’s interesting, and carries the message better than the spotless punctuation you’ll get from the LLM smoothening the draft.

A handwritten note in blue ink on a torn-out notebook page labeled 'FREE NOTE' with little cartoon bear faces in the corners. It reads: 'Thank you, Madame Curie, for being an example to girls everywhere in the world, for defying everyone who once told you that what you were doing was "not a woman's job" and standing up not for you, but for women from all over the world who, thanks to your example, are now working in different scientific fields and making this world (hopefully) a better place. Merci beaucoup, Madame Curie,' followed by a small heart.

(Note found on the tomb of Marie-Curie at the Pantheon in Paris.)