AI detectors identify whether content—be it written text, audio, or video—is generated by AI or created by humans. These detectors use different methods to make this distinction. They leverage machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze sentence structure and patterns, thereby determining whether the content is AI-generated or human-written. In this article, we will first look at how AI detectors work.
What Are AI Detectors?
AI detectors are specialized programs that check whether a piece of content—whether it is written text, music, or audio—was created by a human or generated by AI. They utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP) to perform this task.
Role of NLP Here:
NLP understands how humans type and use language, and based on that, it detects whether the content is human or AI-generated. However, AI detectors do not always provide accurate information; sometimes they can make mistakes in detection, leading to incorrect outputs, which we will discuss further.
Which Pattern AI Detectors Follow to Detect Written Content AI?
AI uses different methods to determine whether written content is actually created by a human or is just AI-generated. We will discuss all these points in detail.
1st: Perplexity and Burstiness like How Predictable Is the Text?
If the text is unpredictable, it is likely human-generated because AI tends to write in a consistent manner and always provides text in a specific format. Humans often mix things up; for example, they might suddenly change the topic of discussion after a certain line, which is common in human writing. In contrast, AI typically writes in a sequential manner.
- "I might be late today. This morning, my cat spilled coffee all over me, and that wasted my time. Is it funny? Huh?"
- AI: "My cat spilled my coffee this morning, which caused me to be late. I had to tidy up before I left."
Repeating Pattern
Even if you use the prompt "make it human" as many times as you want, AI always tends to reuse certain phrases or words repeatedly. However, this is not the case in human writing. Humans change their words using synonyms and always try to write differently. For example:
- AI: “Exercise is good for health. We should exercise daily. Exercise is good for mental health too.”
- Human: “Exercise is not only good for mental health but also for physical health. It boosts your energy and provides you with confidence, which is why daily exercise is important for us.”
Overuse Of Formal Language
AI will not use contractions (such as "don't" or "won't") and tends to write in a highly structured, formal style. People, however, use informal expressions, slang, humor, and even minor errors. For example
- AI: I do not need help in my work. I can manage it in a better way.
- Human: I don't need your help; I can handle it.
Lack of Personal Experience or Opinion
AI lacks experiences in real life, emotions, and opinions but merely condenses facts. People usually have feelings, individual ideas, and sporadic thoughts.
Example
- AI: The Eiffel Tower is one of the most well-known landmarks in Paris. It was constructed in 1889 and is visited by millions of people annually.
- Human: Going to the Eiffel Tower was like a dream come true! The top view is stunning, particularly during sunset. Well worth the wait!
Use Common & Uncommon Words
AI tends to choose popular and standard words, whereas people tend to vary, use unusual words, or include slang. AI identifiers check word usage to determine if they're overly common.
Example:
- AI: "The restaurant food was great. The service was great. The ambiance was great."
- Human: "The food is very delicious! And the service? Super friendly. I’d go back just for the vibe."
What Is The Difference Between Plagiarism Checkers & AI Detectors?
Plagiarism checkers and AI detectors are often misunderstood by some people. According to them, if something isn't plagiarized, then it isn't AI-generated either. However, this is a wrong statement. There is a significant difference between the two. First, let's look at how AI detectors work and their purpose. Before we delve into their differences, let's first review the definition of plagiarism.
A plagiarism checker determines whether a piece of content is original or copied from somewhere else. It searches millions of websites and datasets to identify copied content. It’s not that content can't be copied at all. Sometimes, while checking data or drawing ideas from the same data, a match can occur, but that doesn't mean the plagiarism check shows it as plagiarism. This also follows a pattern; it matches the percentage. If your content matches significantly with existing content, it will indicate plagiarism; otherwise, it won't.
Why We Use Plagiarism Checkers
Plagiarism checkers are used in academic research, especially at the university level, when assignments are submitted. This helps check whether the content was copied from another student or a website. Secondly, when writing articles, since they often cover similar data, some duplications may occur, and plagiarism checkers help us find duplicate data. We can then modify that data a bit to make it unique again.
Sometimes we write content and keep it aside, or share it with someone for review before publishing. We check for plagiarism before publishing to ensure that the content hasn’t been stolen by someone else.
What Is the Difference Here?
AI detector tools are used to check whether the content was written by an AI tool or not. Plagiarism checkers cannot check this because if we command an AI tool to write unique content that isn't available on any website, the AI will generate it as unique. Due to its uniqueness, the plagiarism checker will consider it unique content. However, an AI detector is used to find out whether the content was written by a human or generated by AI. And that’s the fundamental difference between them.
Why are AI detectors important?
AI detectors are for whoever wishes to test if a paragraph of text may have been created by a machine. Possible users are:
- Teachers and university lecturers who want to test that the work produced by their students is original.
- Publishers who wish to make sure they only publish content written by people.
- Employers who want to make sure cover letters written by candidates are their work.
- Web content authors who wish to post AI-created content but fear that it can be lower-ranked on search engines if it is recognized as AI writing.
- Social media moderators and others struggling with automated disinformation who would like to detect AI-created spam and fake news.
Due to fears over their reliability, the majority of users hesitate to completely trust AI detectors for the time being, but they are already popular as a confirmation that a piece of text was created by AI if the user had already suspected as much.