ChatGPT — get away from my em dash

Opinion

ChatGPT is ruining my life, and I don’t even use it.

Apparently, the generative AI chatbot loves an em dash, so much so that people are now pointing to the em dash, or as it’s currently being slandered online, “the ChatGPT hyphen,” as a clear tell that someone has used AI to compose their work.

The sigh I just sighed.

First of all, an em dash is not a hyphen. A hyphen is a different punctuation mark entirely, mostly used in the creation of hyphenated words.

The em dash is the hyphen’s long cousin. She’s versatile. She’s both grabby and graceful. She allows a writer to add information to a sentence, or tack some drama onto the end of one. Maybe she’s better off dead. She is a beautiful workhorse who should not have to suffer the indignities of being referred to as a “ChatGPT hyphen.”

In case it wasn’t clear, I too love an em dash. Punctuation is very personal and writers have strong opinions about it. Editors, even stronger. I, personally, like using em dashes mid-sentence to add an aside, an interjection, a little quip, a small list, or any additional information without breaking stride. This is likely a function of writing pretty closely to how I talk (fast).

People sometimes use them incorrectly in this way; the sentence still needs to work with the stuff between the em dashes omitted. And yes, fine, technically there are other punctuation marks that can do these things… OK, wait. Allow me to stop here and show you something in real time. My natural writerly impulse is to throw a couple of em dashes in there (small list, plus quip). I want to say “…there are other punctuation marks that can do these things — the semi colon, the comma, the parentheses, or, gross, a separate clause — but the em dash is elegant, commanding.”

(I also had a strong urge to use “betwixt” instead of “between” in the paragraph preceding, but some writerly impulses should be ignored entirely.)

But you see my problem. I feel like I can’t use my beloved em dash, the MVP of my keyboard, because of stupid ChatGPT. There are Reddit threads and TikToks spreading the misinformation that em dashes are a hack’s hallmark, which has made me hesitate to use them.

I don’t use AI to do my job, and I really don’t want people to think that I do.

It’s not just em dashes. There are certain words that ChatGPT overuses, such as “delve,” that I now avoid in my own writing. Please do not take “evoke” away from me, ChatGPT, so help me. I write about art!

Of course, people aren’t flagging these things to discourage the use of these tools but rather to discourage the use of certain stylistic tics and words. I stumbled upon a blog post advising Chat GPT users to “eliminate” certain phrases for “improved writing credibility.”

You know what else improves writing credibility? Writing with your own brain.

But the em dash is a canary for me. It’s a real-world example of the ways in which these tools have the power to influence the way we write and think, even if we don’t actually use them. ChatGPT is indirectly and inadvertently forcing me to write differently because it’s made me self-conscious about my usage of em dashes.

I’m mad about that. I mean, zero editors have been able to stop me from (over) using them, why should I let AI?

And don’t get me wrong: it’s good for writers to recognize their crutch words and structures and evolve their writing style. I would just rather my hands not be forced by bots who probably learned to use em dashes by watching me, so to speak.

But every time I replace an em dash with, ugh, a comma, I feel a little sad. What else is ChatGPT going to ruin and steal? You know, besides the environment and everyone else’s writing.

She’s not dead yet, but I’m pouring one out for ol’ em. Please respect my privacy at this difficult time.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca