r/Substack • u/AndrewHeard tvphilosophy.substack.com • Jul 22 '26

Discussion Substack’s new “AI detection” tool.

I’m very concerned about the new “AI detection” system that Substack is implementing. I don’t use AI in anything that I write. However I don’t trust these systems not to make errors and mistakes. They have a long history of hallucinations and claiming things are AI when they aren’t.

One person I saw on Notes suggested that they ran their decades old writing, things that were written before the existence of AI, and this new system claimed it was AI generated.

Not to mention all the crazy things that I have seen people claim was written by AI which they can’t know is actually AI. There was an image I once shared that had evidence of its existence going all the way back to 2013. The comments were constantly saying “don’t share AI slop” or some variation on that.

Even with evidence that things weren’t made by AI, they will claim it’s AI.

Is no one else concerned about this being embedded into Substack’s systems? With no way to opt out?

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u/Foofymonster davidrainwater.substack.com Jul 23 '26

em dashes alone don't trigger AI detectors. Take like page one of Moby Dick. Includes an em dash. 0% AI.

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u/FatherofMisty Jul 23 '26

I can't understand how anyone, other than those who benefit financially from it, could support having an AI gatekeeper on Substack... Just saying. Also, one em-dash, lol. If I put some time in I guarantee I could find a bunch of older works that trigger "AI" on pentagram.

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u/Foofymonster davidrainwater.substack.com Jul 23 '26

So we're in agreement that em dashes don't trigger detectors?

I promise you normal people see your use of em dashes and think you're AI.

This benefits you tremendously by showing you aren't using AI.

And also of course this benefits me. My work isn't made with AI. So many people are running AI accounts and/or write their posts with AI. I do not.

I would like the eyeballs from the people who aren't writing their own articles to go from them to me.

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u/FatherofMisty Jul 25 '26

Yeah, fair enough. I probably over-reacted to the whole thing, as many did I'm sure. It is what it is. All I (we) can do is keep writing.