When you use AI to edit your writing, readers think you’re smarter, richer, whiter, and more politically extreme. AI writing assistance systematically distorts how others perceive you, a study shows. Writers still prefer the AI version. (Paul Röttger, LinkedIn)
- A study with 14,000 participants found that AI-polished writing makes authors appear more politically extreme, more educated, wealthier, and more likely to be white or a native English speaker.
- Writers preferred the AI versions of their text anyway, even after being explicitly warned about these distortions, often believing the AI version better captured their real opinions.
- The perceived demographic and ideological shifts could give AI users a systematic advantage in hiring and admissions, while amplifying polarization in public discourse.
