6 Aspects of AI-Generated Content that Are Easy to Detect
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital content creation, the ability to discern AI-generated material from human-crafted work is becoming increasingly crucial. Insights from industry leaders like a Founder & Creative Director and a CEO shed light on the nuances of this detection process. The article opens by examining how to detect unnatural skin smoothing and concludes with the importance of recognizing formulaic technical structure among the six expert insights shared. Stay ahead in the content game by understanding these key indicators.
- Detect Unnatural Skin Smoothing
- Identify Lack of Emotional Depth
- Spot Missing Nuanced Understanding
- Notice Lack of Topic Depth
- Recognize Repetitive Vocabulary
- Detect Formulaic Technical Structure
Detect Unnatural Skin Smoothing
One aspect of AI-generated content that's easy to detect, especially with tools like MidJourney, is the unnatural smoothing when it comes to skin tones and textures.
In many MidJourney-generated images, skin tones may blend together in unnatural ways, with areas appearing too smooth, overly saturated, or even discolored. This can result in textures that feel artificial—skin especially lacks the natural imperfections or gradients that give it depth and realism. These overly-polished or strangely-textured surfaces immediately signal that the image was created by AI.
Example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gqu5Zg67Qt8XuS5kNkLHTCkB8DebUqzy/view?usp=sharing
Identify Lack of Emotional Depth
One aspect of AI-generated content that I find particularly easy to detect is the lack of nuance or emotional depth. While AI has advanced significantly in generating coherent text, it often struggles to convey genuine human emotions, contextual understanding, and subtleties in tone that come from personal experience or cultural context. This can manifest in content that feels generic or overly formal, lacking the warmth and relatability that human writers typically imbue in their work.
For example, I once came across a blog post about the challenges of entrepreneurship that was clearly AI-generated. While the information was accurate and well-structured, it lacked personal anecdotes or relatable struggles that many entrepreneurs face, such as the emotional roller-coaster of launching a startup or the feeling of isolation during tough times. Instead, it presented a series of factual statements and generic advice that felt impersonal.
This absence of personal touch is often a giveaway for AI-generated content. When reading, I look for emotional resonance and unique perspectives that come from lived experiences, which AI typically cannot replicate. As a result, content that feels overly polished or lacks specific examples often raises a red flag for me regarding its authenticity and origin.
Spot Missing Nuanced Understanding
One aspect of AI-generated content that is particularly easy to detect is the lack of nuanced understanding in language and context. AI often struggles with subtleties, idiomatic expressions, and cultural references that a human writer would naturally incorporate.
For example, an AI might generate a piece that appears coherent but lacks emotional depth or fails to capture the intricacies of a specific situation, such as a personal anecdote in a blog about overcoming challenges. If the content feels overly formulaic or lacks a unique voice, it can be a strong indicator of AI authorship. This aspect highlights how AI-generated text can sometimes miss the mark in conveying genuine human experiences and emotions, making it easier to identify as non-human-generated.
Notice Lack of Topic Depth
AI-generated content often lacks depth in understanding nuanced topics, which is evident in areas like affiliate marketing that require genuine engagement and trust. While AI can produce coherent text quickly, it struggles to incorporate personal experiences and emotional insights, making it less effective at resonating with audiences. Authenticity and relatability are crucial for building trust and driving conversions in this field.
Recognize Repetitive Vocabulary
I actually find it rather surprising that AI-generated articles are so similar to each other, and so easy to detect. If I had to pinpoint one specific issue, it would be their vocabulary.
ChatGPT gives a huge preference to certain words over others, with no obvious reason why. When you read an article that only uses "such as" and never "like," or always opts for "challenging" over other synonyms, it becomes obvious.
These articles also have a few other very-obvious similarities:
1. They include wordy and unnecessary introductions, like "In today's digital age."
2. The content is heavily structured and filled with bullet-point lists, which actually makes the article harder to read at times.
3. AI-generated articles are always 100% impersonal and neutral.
Detect Formulaic Technical Structure
One aspect that makes AI-generated technical content easy to detect is its formulaic structure: sticking to rigid intros, generic bullet-point lists, and a regurgitated conclusion that simply recaps its source data. Such content often follows predictable, rigid patterns, which users are often quick to move on from.
This formulaic tendency is noticeable in technical writing on topics like integrations between multiple technologies or explaining complex subject matter. Where human experts typically vary phrasing and can use unique, real experiences for context, an AI-generated article repeats phrases like, "It is crucial to understand" and "It is imperative for developers to"; while technically correct, the recurring pattern reiterates facts without any voice or personal touch that readers can relate to. To keep readers engaged and coming back for more, your content needs to have your brand's voice alongside valuable education.
