Am I the only one who is noticing daily increases in obvious errors that a young child would make (context/tense, duplication, spelling, etc) on 75% of websites in the past year? This is in addition to mindless, repetitive, generic nonsense, I have HUNDREDS of examples just like this. Businesses that rely heavily on Al for content writing/editing should be VERY cautious. EASIER AND FASTER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. #protectyourself #roamingredneckwriter
This is so real. As a freelance editor and ELA teacher, I'm seeing this from both sides, AI-generated content that's technically "fine" but flat, and writers who are starting to lose trust in their own instincts because they're over-relying on tools. The craft still matters. Editing isn't just catching errors, it's shaping the writers voice, pacing, and meaning. That's not something you can automate.
Al content writing is all well and good, but proofreading and editing should remain the sacred realm of the technical writer. Who watches over the companies' writers? Who watches over the companies' readers? Who watches over the companies' editors? Who watches over the companies' rewriters? Who watches over the companies' re-readers? Eventually, a company will just need to surrender and hire some human being to blame, rather than blaming that other human being who just happens to be the company's CEO.
You're absolutely right. And standards have been going down for years and are getting worse. And... If your own writing standards are higher, and you are hired by the company to raise the bar, the bad spellers, bad writers, the plain lazy contributors, and the "I just want it off my desk" managers, will gang against you and dun their supervisors with complaints that the time it takes for them to make your revisions is frustrating and preventing them from having the time to do other "more" important things they have to get done. And you will be fired, and then you will be able, at your leisure, to see the company's copy, just as bad as it always was, get published for you to read on the web.
Non-native English writers using AI.
I am amazed at how many websites have typos on them. The companies hire copywriters, art directors and marketing people. But do they ever think to hire a proofreader who can review the copy before the site goes live? They pay these other people big bucks, but proofreaders are usually at the bottom paywise. Once it's live, it will be there for a long time. I just have one last thought. BugHerd.
Thirty years ago, I got mad when our local newspapers started to phase out their editors. Yes, yes, costs and all that rot. I stopped reading. But one man's voice can't be heard above the din. The content DOES appear to be illiterate, just as we're seeing online today and the subject of this post. In my mind, if the information can't be presented in a way that doesn't offend my eye then I'm not sure the information is valid. And eventually I'll be a total recluse. For perspective, I was a printer, learning the craft as a youth. Typos jump off the page at me. They anger me. I can't help myself. I'm angrier now more than ever before.
AI is an outstanding tool for writers. Those who poo-poo it think they're not replaceable. When are old school writers who think they're superior going to just admit the future is here? I've never seen AI make a mistake. I've seen it say things that are totally wrong, but never grammar or typos. I double check every fact when I use AI. I have found it very helpful. I will continue to use it; I don't want to perish.
These kinds of errors are so prevalent in traditional publishing now that I have often thought, "Where are their editors?" You have answered my question. I bet they're using a lot of AI. One of my authors put his book through AI to correct typos and grammar, and it failed. When we went through the galley, I found dozens. Without human eyeballs, and context, these things just slide by. AI is no substitute for a real editor.
This looks like a copy paste error, where it was originally worded as a statement “ how I cured my sleep apnea.” and was changed into a question and they simply missed it. This looks like a victim of speed and more than likely, a consolidation of content creation and proofreading as opposed to having dedicated resources for each and in the corporate world two heads cost more than one.
You're just now noticing this? 🤣 I've been noticing this for years, but probably because I am an editor and it is a pet peeve of mine to come across these pervasive glaring errors all over the Internet, promulgated by all these companies publishing sloppy copy. For a few years (2006 to 2009) I was surfing the Internet finding all these websites with errors and then using their "contact us" boxes to send them notes pointing out their sloppy copy and correcting it and then closing with "...you need an editor, hire me, let me fix all your copy." Result? Hired a whole whopping two times! Contract work. A few weeks and I was done fixing all their stuff. Then I stopped doing that when I realized, why should they pay to have their copy fixed when some idiot like me is running around the Internet and doing it for free in "contact us" boxes? Over the years I've developed a tougher skin and now I can tolerate sloppy copy as I browse, but don't think I do it without a grimace. 😡 Well, that's it for now. Singing off, Grimacing in AZ oops, I meant signing off. 🤣 😂 🤪