Those Funny Long Dashes

Yesterday on LinkedIn I saw a microwaved burrito take. You know: scalding hot on the outside, unpleasantly tepid once you bite in. This take included a list of surefire ways to identify AI-generated writing. One of those items?

“those funny long dashes without spaces”

I have to paraphrase, because I immediately closed the tab and muttered incoherently to myself for several minutes.

I think they were talking about the em dash. Maybe they were joking? Seriously—ok maybe half-seriously—this is one way neurodivergent folks get trapped and filtered out by the more mundane folks running the show. If you love the richness of language, you aren’t human.

Anyways I will keep using the funny long dash, and I will put a little more effort into using it correctly.

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-) Merriam-Webster