New Publication: G. A. Kiraz, “The Formulaic Machine: Generative AI, Academic Writing, and the Recovery of Voice.”
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George Kiraz
May 21, 2026, 3:32:02 PM (5 days ago) May 21
to hugoy...@groups.io, NASCAS
Dear Hugoyoye and Nascasiyyūn,
Feel free to share!
🤖 New paper alert — and this one has layers. I just published "The Formulaic Machine: Generative AI, Academic Writing, and the Recovery of Voice," a guide to spotting AI-generated prose in academic papers... that was itself written by AI.
The paper identifies the telltale phrases that give away AI-assisted writing: "Taken together, these findings suggest…", "is not merely X, but Y", the suspiciously tidy three-item list, the em-dash avalanche.
You know the ones.
The twist? To prove the point, I prompted Claude to draft the main body (apart from my own introduction and concluding remarks), then sat back and watched as the AI dutifully reproduced every formulaic tic the paper was warning you about. The paper is footnoted in real time, like a critical edition of its own bad habits.
Taken together(!!!), this is not merely (!!!) a guide to academic writing — it is a meditation on voice, authorship, and whether the machine knows what it's doing. (It doesn't. It predicts. There are always exactly three items in the list.)
The paper is open access (attached). You can also read it here: https://albert.ias.edu/20.500.12111/10632
The paper identifies the telltale phrases that give away AI-assisted writing: "Taken together, these findings suggest…", "is not merely X, but Y", the suspiciously tidy three-item list, the em-dash avalanche.
You know the ones.
The twist? To prove the point, I prompted Claude to draft the main body (apart from my own introduction and concluding remarks), then sat back and watched as the AI dutifully reproduced every formulaic tic the paper was warning you about. The paper is footnoted in real time, like a critical edition of its own bad habits.
Taken together(!!!), this is not merely (!!!) a guide to academic writing — it is a meditation on voice, authorship, and whether the machine knows what it's doing. (It doesn't. It predicts. There are always exactly three items in the list.)
The paper is open access (attached). You can also read it here: https://albert.ias.edu/20.500.12111/10632
George
__________________________
George A. Kiraz, M.St. (Oxon), M.Phil., Ph.D. (Cantab)Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, Senior Research Associate — ܡܦܫܩܢܐ ܡܚܝܠܐ
Princeton University, Lecturer in Near Eastern Studies (Syriac) — ܕܒܫܡ ܒܠܚܘܕ ܡܩܪܝܢܐ
Gorgias Press, Founder — ܙܥܘܪܐ ܒܝܢܬ ܡܦܚ̈ܡܢܐ
www.gorgiaspress.com
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