Artificial Intelligence

Study Finds AI Stories Rated Higher Quality Than Human Writing

Is AI writing a threat to human thinking or the ultimate tool for those who master it?

Published AUG 5

Study Finds AI Stories Rated Higher Quality Than Human Writing

Story

Above: Michael Trazzi, founder and CEO of The Inside View media company, during a protest march in San Francisco, California, on July 11. Image credit: Karl Mondon/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

A study published in the journal Judgment and Decision Making on Wednesday found that participants rated ChatGPT-generated short stories as higher-quality and more absorbing than human-written ones, with AI stories scoring 1.54 vs. 0.97 and 1.42 vs. 1.00 on absorption.
Cambridge Core
New Scientist
The study, led by researchers at Villanova University, involved 1,682 adults who each read one of six short stories, three written by humans and three by ChatGPT. Participants were told different variations of which stories were human and which were synthetic.
Time
BBC News
Daily Mail
Participants gave higher ratings to stories they were told were written by humans, regardless of the actual author. The highest ratings went to AI-generated stories that had been labeled as human-written.
Cambridge Core
In two follow-up experiments involving 905 adults, participants were given one human-written and one AI-generated story and asked to identify each. Correct identification rates were approximately 40% in one experiment and 52% in the other.
Cambridge Core
Digital Trends
Researchers also found that self-reported AI literacy positively predicted participants' ability to correctly identify AI-generated stories, whereas expertise in fictional literature showed no such effect in either follow-up experiment.
Time
BBC News
EurekAlert!
Senior author Dr. Deena Weisberg attributed the preference for AI writing to its clarity and directness, noting that "AI writing tends to be clearer, more direct and easier to process." Luke Kennard, a professor at the University of Birmingham, responded that AI is "really just predictive code based on a massive stolen database of actual writing."
Cambridge Core
Earth.com
Guardian

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The Spin

Techno-skeptic narrative

Using AI to write is the slow death of a natural art. Through authentic writing, whether elaborate or mundane, we continue to develop the critical thinking that sets humanity apart. With most people already surrendering their voice, it is now more important than ever to fight against the machine.

Gergely Orosz on X

The New York Times

Techno-optimist narrative

AI writing is strong and genuinely improving, with the real skill now in effectively editing and directing technology rather than ignoring its existence. With models now capable of intelligently mimicking personalized voices and literary techniques at scale, rejecting AI out of a romantic attachment to labor is simply misguided nostalgia.

Unherd

The Economist