AI and the Problem of Polished Prose

AI prose often produces polished, precise writing that can feel intelligent before real intelligence appears. Automated language models shift writing from ornate “purple prose” to flawless “polished prose,” enabling anyone to sound profound quickly. The result can feel off, empty, or vapid because sentences arrive with excessive precision. What is missing is the texture of thinking, where thoughts bounce, overlap, and sometimes cross the boundary of overly decorative language. Human writing leaves traces of humanity through imperfections and irregularities, which can function like beauty in art. AI-generated prose removes the friction that signals a person’s presence.

"Large language models have introduced the shift from "purple prose" to "polished prose" and do they it in seconds. And beyond the cadence of words, the text itself often feels intelligent before intelligence has actually entered the room. And when you read enough of it, it begins to feel off. It's not wrong, exactly but feels empty or even vapid. Every sentence arrives with a feeling of precision that is just too precise."

"What's missing is the texture of your thinking. Our thoughts bounce around as they take shape and often step over that purple edge. When we write, the process leaves traces of our humanity and our imperfections. Perhaps even akin to the "perfect imperfections" of a crooked smile or shifted perspective seen in art. Those irregularities are often elements of beauty that are realized in our uniquely human craft."

"Writing in this style, often typical in a youthful and energetic writer, is so ornate and so emotionally dense, that the words overpowered the thought. Yes, it sounded intelligent. It performed intelligence but there was often very little actually happening. This was considered a human problem. Too much ego, decoration and the search to add style to substance. Now today, it's been engineered and a machine does it for us."

"AI-generated prose removes that friction. And here is where something strange begins. If the friction was the evidence, the proof that a person was actually present"

Read at Psychology Today