With the rise of the use of AI in academic settings, certain types of punctuation are being recognized as hallmarks of ChatGPT and used to recognize and accuse AI usage. Recently, em-dashes have been a popular sign used to red-flag AI usage amongst students by teachers. However, controversy has arisen regarding wrongful accusations against students. As a result, it is becoming increasingly unclear what the correct grounds for accusations are.
It is not the fault of the innocent em-dash or any other unfortunate punctuation mark that becomes a hallmark of AI, but the fault of unpremeditated accusations that have brought rise to the controversy surrounding em-dashes.
Lindsay Combs, a U.S. and World History teacher at Sammamish High School, was asked about the usage of em-dashes as a method to flag AI-generated work. She responded, “Well, it shouldn’t be the only thing you are looking for. Usually, I find that when kids use AI, there is perfect grammar and uncommon vocabulary not discussed in class.” She also pointed out that the pressure to create a good document is part of why students resort to AI.
AI brings a lot of uncertainty into the future of education. The rising usage of AI for homework and assignments amongst students has sparked suspicion against professors and students who are found using uncommon punctuation, such as the em-dash and Oxford comma. While AI usage is plagiarism, paranoia and suspicion of AI-generated work in educational environments have only created more anxiety for students.
It’s important to remember that em-dashes were in fact not invented by ChatGPT. Em-dashes have been used throughout history to show a distinct break or change in a sentence’s structure. Furthermore, profiling a piece of writing simply due to the use of em-dashes is impulsive and shows a lack of thought behind the accusation. Balancing respect for education and students is key when thinking about AI usage in education.
