A number of very good science reporters were talking online recently about generative AI. And I think several aspects of that conversation are worth sharing here, since they are relevant to both researchers and science writers. 🧪 /start🧵 - ThreadSky

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shiplives.bsky.social • 14 hours ago

A number of very good science reporters were talking online recently about generative AI. And I think several aspects of that conversation are worth sharing here, since they are relevant to both researchers and science writers. 🧪

/start🧵

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shiplives.bsky.social•14 hours ago

1) Several folks noted that when they have approached researchers for stories, the responses they're getting from those researchers are now often clearly AI-generated text.

shiplives.bsky.social•14 hours ago

In those cases, the reporters don't (and can't) use the information or the quotes -- because A) reporters don't trust them, due to the errors generative AI often introduce; and B) the text is unwieldy and awkward-sounding (but not in the unwieldy and awkward ways that human voices are).

shiplives.bsky.social•14 hours ago

2) Editors and course instructors noted that AI-generated text is consistently bad in predictable ways, so is (usually) easy to spot.

However, despite this...

shiplives.bsky.social•14 hours ago

3) Software that purports to ID AI-generated text doesn't work very well. It turns up far too many false positives, saying text written by humans was AI generated (i.e., in science terms, poor specificity). The software also often misses things that actually were AI generated (poor sensitivity).

shiplives.bsky.social•14 hours ago

4) As one reporter noted: Writing *is* thinking. The process of writing plays a role in shaping how we view and understand whatever it is we are writing about.

"Writing *is* thinking." <-- I love this one.

/end🧵

wordworking.bsky.social•14 hours ago

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