For decades, good writing was easy to recognize because it was clear, thoughtful, and well-structured. Most of the time, it was even free of unnecessary errors.
Now, those same qualities (especially if it’s all just a tad too perfect) can get you accused of using AI.
So what do some writers do? They deliberately add typos, delete em dashes, try to be less formal, throw in odd-sounding sentences and… (the latest trick in the book) random references to The Office, all in the hope of convincing readers that a real person wrote the words.
We live in interesting times. We’ve gone from trying to improve our writing to intentionally making it worse.
Now here’s something most people don’t consider: it’s not really about AI. It’s about authenticity. Or, more specifically, how humans recognize it.
We’re Looking for Evidence of a Person
Think about the things that feel most genuine online.
A photo taken on someone’s phone often feels more believable than a polished stock image.
A creator sharing a behind-the-scenes moment usually feels more engaging than a perfectly scripted commercial.
Even in everyday life, we don’t connect with people because they’re flawless. We connect with them because they’re unmistakably themselves.
The same is absolutely true of writing.
It’s not that readers are looking for mistakes; they’re looking to read something they haven’t read before, or something expressed in a way they’ve never heard before.
They want to feel like there is another human behind those written words.
Typos and a casual tone can be faked, but unfortunately, those who resort to those measures don’t really satisfy the bigger concern because those are just signals.
Readers are really searching for something that is, at least for now, almost impossible to manufacture: individuality.
Every Writer Has a DNA
Spend enough time reading your favourite author, blogger, or newsletter, and something interesting happens.
You begin to recognize them before you see their name. Their tone and the way they think become a kind of creative DNA.
Those writers have questions they always return to, familiar ways of telling stories, the types of metaphors they instinctively reach for, quirky connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, subjects, or events, their humour (or lack thereof), and their worldview.
All of that defines their fingerprint. And those fingerprints are quickly becoming more valuable than perfect grammar ever could be.
We Don’t Fall in Love with Perfection
Humans have always admired perfection, but we also get bored with it surprisingly quickly.
We seek and remember novelty, emotion, and inspiration. Perfect, on the other hand, is easily forgettable.
That unexpected flaw (or unexpected turn of events) is often what makes something memorable.
Just as a favorite photograph isn’t meaningful because it was technically perfect, a person doesn’t become unforgettable because they checked every box.
They become unforgettable because there’s no one else quite like them.
Writing works exactly. the. same. way.
The best writing communicates information while revealing a perspective that couldn’t have come from anyone else.
Why AI Feels Familiar
Today’s AI models are incredibly capable.
They can organize ideas, improve clarity (that’s another one of AI’s favourite words: clarity), summarize complex topics, and help people overcome the blank page.
They’re incredible, life-changing tools, but they also share an unavoidable characteristic.
They’re really good at predicting what is most likely to come next.
Humans… not nearly as much.
Humans make unexpected leaps. They invent phrases. Rearrange words. Invent new words. They combine ideas no one has ever thought to put together. They tell stories that seem completely unrelated until the final paragraph, when everything suddenly comes together.
And that’s where memorable writing lives: in the surprise.
Our brains are wired to notice (and enjoy) a certain level of unpredictability, which, by the way, is also incredibly difficult to fake.
The Band-aid Solution
That’s why the current trend of deliberately making writing look “more human” misses the point entirely.
Adding a typo here or there won’t make writing more authentic.
Removing those obsessive “AI” em dashes may change the visual appearance, but it won’t make the writing more original.
Throwing in a random reference to The Office won’t necessarily give a piece personality or substance.
Those are superficial signals.
Readers adapt to them quickly and will eventually recognize manufactured imperfections just as easily as they recognize AI clichés today.
They’re band-aid solutions that won’t solve the problem in the long run.
Blogs Have Always Solved This Problem
This is one of blogging’s superpowers.
A single LinkedIn post or social update offers very little context.
A blog tells a much bigger story.
Over months and years, readers don’t just consume your content.
They become familiar with your thinking.
They learn the topics you’re passionate about, the questions you keep asking, and the perspective you consistently bring to them.
That kind of trust can’t be built with a pile of auto-generated, doctored-up posts.
It emerges through the consistency of an individual’s unmistakable uniqueness.
The Future Belongs to Distinctive Voices
As AI becomes better at producing competent writing, competence alone becomes less valuable.
Think experience.
Think originality.
That requires people to sound more like themselves, which takes far more effort than simply removing a few “AI tells.”
Your voice is the unique way your life has taught you to see the world, and no shortcut can manufacture that. At least not yet.
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