Is the Em-Dash Proof of Somebody Using ChatGPT or Other AI? Think Again

So the linguistic community is up in arms over the good ol’ em-dash. Who would have thought?

Some self-proclaimed, eagle-eyed content experts started circulating the idea that the frequent use of the em-dash exposes you for using ChatGPT. More “experts” shared and posted, and the claim spread like wildfire. As a result, many linguists felt the ground pulled from beneath their feet because they now fear being accused of AI-fraud for using what has always been a loyal tool in their punctuation arsenal. So they started pushing back on their own social pages. And we have got ourselves the fiercest linguistic battle we’ve seen in years. It’s wild!

Let’s start from the beginning. The differentiation between hyphens, en-dashes and em-dashes is fairly basic for actual writers, translators, editors, proofreaders and the like. Some style guides may differ on how they should be used, but other than that, there’s nothing noteworthy about these symbols. Yet we are not surprised by this controversy. Why? Because we always disliked the em-dash. Again you ask, why? Because there is something inherently unnatural about how it is used. We can cope with its length (the length of the letter M, hence its name), but the fact that there should be no spaces before AND after it, makes it an outlier in English grammar and an eyesore on top of it. (You may argue that ellipses can also be used without spaces before and after, but there it actually makes sense.)

Now, with the rise of AI, people have become more suspicious when reading practically anything. Even people who haven’t opened a book since the movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings claim to be capable of immediately spotting the use of ChatGPT. That’s a good thing, actually, but it can backfire, too. The unschooled eye will recognize the visual inconsistency of em-dashes (but not their own ignorance), and naturally term them “mechanic,” which is synonymous with AI. Some viral posts later we’ve arrived at where we are now.

So no, the use of em-dashes absolutely does not expose anyone for using AI. What it does expose is you—for jumping the gun on calling yourself an expert (see how we used the em-dash there? Expert level). Nevertheless, we are thoroughly enjoying this ride, because we think there is an underlying grammatical difficulty surrounding the em-dash that needs to be called out. Maybe there should be a social media challenge to raise awareness? 

Anyway, while we don’t necessarily support discriminating against the em-dash, we absolutely love the en-dash. It’s elegant, humble and pretty – everything the em-dash is not. The em-dash is dead, long live the en-dash!