How To Spot AI Poetry

I wrote an article called How To Spot AI about 4 weeks ago, and I realized that I focused only on nonfiction writing. With AI continuing to incorporate itself into everyday life and mingling suspiciously undetected in the fiction and poetry communities, I've decided to follow up with tips and tricks on how to detect AI poetry.

I'll reiterate a few key points from my last article for those who have not read it. AI is allowed on Vocal, but its use needs to be clearly labeled. Failure to provide a disclaimer can and will often result in suspension from the platform. If you want to avoid that happening, just put a disclaimer. If you think you can slip through the cracks, it's only a matter of time.

You can read the provided resource here:

AI-generated content on Vocal should be labeled clearly as such. This labeling should be included at the beginning of the content itself as well as in any accompanying materials, whether it be links to AI-generated content or AI-generated images within the story. All AI-generated content should also be clearly attributed to the AI software that generated it. If you dabble with AI-generated content on Vocal, it is important to also be aware of the potential for copyright infringement.

Let's get into it, shall we?

1. AABB Rhyme Scheme

Every single AI poem I've ever seen follows this uber-specific format. That being said, it doesn't mean that every AABB rhyme scheme poem on Vocal is AI-generated. Let's have a look at some work from ChatGPT.

Prompt: Write me a poem about the sounds that bugs make in the summer with themes of nostalgia and fond memories.

In summer's embrace, beneath the sun's warm caress,

The symphony of bugs, a timeless duet, no less.

Their tiny voices weave a tapestry of sound,

A nostalgic melody in memories unbound.

-

Cicadas hum a chorus, a rhythmic summer song,

As memories of childhood dance and play along.

Their ceaseless buzz, a lullaby to lazy days,

In fields of gold, where time forever sways.

-

Fireflies twinkle in the twilight's tender gleam,

Like lanterns of nostalgia, they softly beam.

Their fleeting waltz, a dance of dreams gone by,

Ignites the heart with joy that will never die.

-

The crickets join the chorus with their tender trill,

A night's embrace, a longing that they instill.

Their serenade recalls nights beneath the stars,

When worries faded and we forgot our scars.

-

Oh, the sounds of bugs in summer's sweet embrace,

A symphony that time cannot erase.

Nostalgia's gentle breeze, a fond memory's call,

In the bug-filled nights, we find solace above all.

Without fail, every stanza has an AABB rhyme scheme with exactly 4 lines per stanza. Let's dig deeper.

2. Repetition

As I stated in the previous article, repetition can certainly be done artfully, but when AI does it, it tends to be redundant and lack depth.

I'm going to reference the same poem as above, but we're going to highlight the repeated words/phrases in bold.

In summer's embrace, beneath the sun's warm caress,

The symphony of bugs, a timeless duet, no less.

Their tiny voices weave a tapestry of sound,

A nostalgic melody in memories unbound.

-

Cicadas hum a chorus, a rhythmic summer song,

As memories of childhood dance and play along.

Their ceaseless buzz, a lullaby to lazy days,

In fields of gold, where time forever sways.

-

Fireflies twinkle in the twilight's tender gleam,

Like lanterns of nostalgia, they softly beam.

Their fleeting waltz, a dance of dreams gone by,

Ignites the heart with joy that will never die.

-

The crickets join the chorus with their tender trill,

A night's embrace, a longing that they instill.

Their serenade recalls nights beneath the stars,

When worries faded and we forgot our scars.

-

Oh, the sounds of bugs in summer's sweet embrace,

A symphony that time cannot erase.

Nostalgia's gentle breeze, a fond memory's call,

In the bug-filled nights, we find solace above all.

Summer - x3, Bug - x3, Nostalgia - x2, Night - x3, Memories - x2

What do all of these words have in common? I used them in the prompt.

Not only that, but "summer's embrace," "night's embrace," and "summer's sweet embrace," were used all within the span of 5 stanzas.

3. Lack of personality

Sure, the AI did what I told it to do, but it lacks the depth that a human brings to their creations. It employs metaphors, but it's also worded quite strangely.

Things that stick out to me as abnormal are: "a timeless duet, no less," "a longing that they instill," and "a fond memory's call."

Where is the human perspective here? It's capturing these ideas, but there's something personal missing.

4. What now?

AI poetry is notoriously difficult to spot and AI checkers may not always be accurate. The fewer words in a piece, the more likely work is to be flagged due to insufficient inputs, so legitimate work can be shot in the crossfire. Use your best judgment and engage with caution.

Some things that set off red flags for myself and many others are creators that post in rapid succession. Do all of their poems have the same format? Are they posting 5+ pieces daily within minutes of each other? They might be using AI to produce their work.

I'm going to reiterate, Vocal allows AI on the platform, but it must be properly labeled. I don't care what you want to do with your free time but follow the rules of the website.

For some tips on spotting AI in Fiction, check out Judey Kalchik's fun game, AINGO here: