A very long hyphen, known as an em dash, is often found in text generated by artificial intelligence. While some writers have responded by choosing to avoid punctuation, others have resisted.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
If you are reading something created by AI, there may be signs there. A chatbot can delve into a topic, conceptualize or exploit it, and overuse adjectives and transition words that humans rarely actually write. And it could distinguish them with an elongated hyphen, known as an em dash.
SUSAN LOVETT: Looks like that's the only punctuation they've learned other than the period. It is used too often and often in meaningless ways.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Susan Lovett is a story writing coach. At her previous job, her colleagues called her the queen of speed running.
LOVETT: That dramatic pause allows the voice to breathe on the page.
CHANG: It's a universal punctuation mark. I use it a lot. It can act like a comma, colon, or parentheses. This can help emphasize a point or expand on an idea. But what caught the attention of internet linguists earlier this year was that AI seemed to be overusing it.
(SOUND CARD FROM TIKTOK VIDEO)
MEMES4WRITERS: (As character) I know you used AI to write this.
(As character) No, I didn't do that. What are you talking about?
(As a character) I can tell by all the lines.
SUMMER: TikTok user @memes4writers explains the phenomenon. Reddit users are asking, should I stop using the em dash so people don't think I was using AI? And, well, some people have concluded that yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST “LUXEGEN”)
DAISY REED: Well…
SAPNA RAO: Yes.
REED: …Public service announcement – take out…
RAO: Check it out.
REED: …Hyphen.
CHANG: At least that's what LuxeGen, a fashion and lifestyle podcast aimed at Gen Z listeners, advises. It's made the term ChatGPT hyphenated into the mainstream.
SUMMERS: And that prompted months and months of think pieces and newsletters and blog posts and LinkedIn posts because that guidance just doesn't cut it for some writers like Susan Lovett.
LOVETT: It doesn't have to be that way if it's used correctly.
CHANG: For Lovett and others who experience backlash over em dash backlash, the solution isn't to avoid it. This is to restore the punctuation mark, to stand up for its correct use.
CARLA ZANONI: To my fellow Gen Zers or Gen Alphas, I would say don't let technology dictate what you're going to do with your generation.
SUMMERS: Carla Zanoni is a journalist and media consultant. Her Substack is literally called The Em Dash. Zanoni, who also writes poetry, notes that this is not the first time the punctuation mark has come under scrutiny.
ZANONI: Emily Dickinson is, like, an OG em dash user, and historically scholars and novices have found her use of the em dash confusing and confusing.
CHANG: Although Emily Dickinson was unknown during her lifetime, em dashes are often used in her work. And today she is considered a great poetess. Carla Zanoni said she can set an example for all of us.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
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