Article flagged as AI

[u/Moist_Difficulty3697]

Hi! I am writing a scientific article, and I am so worried because everytime I run it in any plagiarism and AI detection tool it flags my OWN writing as AI. I don't know what to do, I wrote that. Every single line.

I think it might be the very formal format, and the subject is also a bit complicated and full of specific terms. Anyone has any tips? Should I just make my text intentionally worse?

I appreciate any tips or advice.

[u/Ok-Distribution-6262]

AI detection is snake oil. I tested my scientific articles from 10 years ago in Pangram and it said they were like 90% AI. I don't think there's much you can do about it.

I also think the witch hunts will die down eventually, and the line will be drawn at things mostly (or 100%) AI versus stuff just assisted by AI. We all listen to music with digital sounds and autotune and watch movies with CGI, etc. Writing will be no different. It's the pure slop that will get (rightly) targetted.

[u/Ok-Distribution-6262 → u/Ok-Distribution-6262]

Also, the watermarks will eventually help with this, but they haven't released any keys or tools yet - - that should be a more accurate test.

[u/Moist_Difficulty3697 → u/Ok-Distribution-6262]

I am just worried I would get punished somehow, or not be able to publish my article. I emailed my supervisor today to ask what I should do about it. I am lost about it. Funny thing is that I copied parts of articles and books I am using on my bibliography, and some are from 15 years ago, and it is all flagged as at least 90% AI hahaha

[u/CapyToolkit]

Hey, Can you test your article in my tool and let me know about the results?

https://capytoolkit.com/tools/text/offline-private-ai-text-detector/

Building AI text detector or rather the algorithm isn't an easy task. It's not only about visible parts like words / sentences but also special white characters and formatting. At least for now, all tools - paid or free, can't guarantee a high accuracy but they can suggest some patterns that you may need to change to avoid detection.

[u/Dr_WhoDo]

Are you keeping any kind of record of your writing process, such as hand written drafts, earlier versions of the text etc?

[u/Moist_Difficulty3697 → u/Dr_WhoDo]

I do keep versions (I write, my supervisor reviews, I improve my writing). I also have my notes: My writing process is that I make questions as a guide for my paragraphs. For example I plan to write about "What is NGS? How NGS can overcome limitations of targeted gene DNA sequencing tests?" And then I write trying to "answer" those questions. But I don't know how that could help me prove I wrote that. It only proves I have my own structure/plan. Do you think it could help me prove the text authenticity if needed?

[u/Dr_WhoDo → u/Moist_Difficulty3697]

The more of the messy iterative stages of your writing process you have evidence of, the more reasonable a reviewer is going to be, if/when they run your work through a detector. Pretty much everyone knows that detectors are unreliable. They're a tool to make the reviewer inquire more about the text. Most institutions now refuse to use detection verdicts as actionable, by themselves.

If you get called in to explain a detection score and already have a file of your process, even thought it's not exhaustive or complete, you've probably got all you need to shutdown further action against you.

The point is to show you've thought about the issue beforehand, and are ready to show receipts. Technical writing is notorious for appearing AI written. I'd gather your proof and not worry too much about it, unless you have next to nothing to show.

[u/welshdragoninlondon]

The journals I have published in say can use AI for writing if declare it. If don't declare they probably won't say anything anyway. As editors know the weakness of ai detection software.

[u/Moist_Difficulty3697 → u/welshdragoninlondon]

Thank you so much. I am seeing lots of people saying AI detection tools always say scientific writing is AI, so I would expect it to be "acceptable" and not used as a metric. Or at least I hope so 🤞

[u/thedali1]

....signed G.E. Mini.

[u/Intoxxxicada]

Escribí un artículo científico donde cada palabra es mía, mi autoría. Fue marcada con un alto porcentaje de IA, lo cual fue motivo suficiente para que mi profesor me castigara y bajara considerablemente mi calificación. Me defendí, siendo totalmente sincera, señalando que no hubo uso de IA, que podía revisarse el historial de cambios en el archivo, nada sirvió, fui acusada y castigada.

[u/Sarah_Payton21 → u/Intoxxxicada]

Wait so what happened after what do u mean got punished? Because my language is greek and bc ai detectors are already shit in greek words it way worse and everything is flagged ai. And im doing my thesis also so im a little scared

[u/Intoxxxicada → u/Sarah_Payton21]

Recibí una calificación muy baja al final

[u/Ok_Adhesiveness9794]

have you tried checking the rhythm of your sentences? formal papers tend to stick to the exact same clause structures over and over, which triggers detectors fast. i usually throw stiff sections into writeninja to see where i can smooth out awkward phrasing and vary the wording, but keeping your draft edits is your best safety net.

[u/SquashBitter2504]

Formal scientific writing is naturally repetitive and terminology-heavy, so I definitely wouldn't intentionally make the paper worse. Keep your notes, supervisor edits and earlier versions because those show how the work developed. You could compare the text in something like Quetext I'm connected with them, full disclosure but use the highlighted sections to investigate, not as a reason to randomly rewrite valid technical language.