The author criticizes the accuracy of general AI detectors, stating that false positives are common and that the writing style of a text does not necessarily indicate whether it was AI-generated. The article also criticizes AI detector companies for advertising high accuracy rates based on small data sets, and highlights the difficulty writers face in defending themselves against accusations of AI-generated content.
Key takeaways:
- Freelance writer Michael Berben was accused of using AI to generate his articles and was fired from his job, despite providing evidence to the contrary.
- General AI detection is flawed and often results in false positives, with even OpenAI discontinuing their own detector due to its low accuracy rate.
- Companies offering AI detection services often advertise with cherry-picked numbers, which can be misleading as they may be based on small, unrepresentative datasets.
- Writers accused of using AI to generate their content have no effective way to defend themselves against these accusations, as the AI detection process is often opaque and unaccountable.