This misconception has been floating around for a while and while I am not a heavy user of the em dash or en dash because (a) I'm still learning how to use them properly and (b) I'm used to relying on colons and semicolons where a dash might suffice, I believe this "stereotype" should not exist.
Just because em dashes and en dashes have been overused by AI does not mean every writing that features them was AI-generated. There are articulate writers who are well-versed in punctuation and use these dashes intentionally. It is sad that a write-up can read 100% human yet a dash here or there can trigger assumptions of AI authorship.
This has been a topic of discussion among writers on X (formerly Twitter) for some time. Yes, AI uses dashes but humans do too. Anyone who reads extensively knows these punctuation marks existed long before AI was even a thing.
What prompted me to post this? I saw a recent tweet where BAT used an em-dash, and it was tagged as being written by ChatGPT even though the construction itself could very well have been human.
