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    LLMs can get "brain rot"

    (llm-brain-rot.github.io)
    466 points tamnd | 16 comments | 21 Oct 25 14:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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    avazhi ◴[21 Oct 25 17:41 UTC] No.45658886[source]▶
    “Studying “Brain Rot” for LLMs isn’t just a catchy metaphor—it reframes data curation as cognitive hygiene for AI, guiding how we source, filter, and maintain training corpora so deployed systems stay sharp, reliable, and aligned over time.”

    An LLM-written line if I’ve ever seen one. Looks like the authors have their own brainrot to contend with.

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    standardly ◴[21 Oct 25 19:30 UTC] No.45660532[source]▶
    That is indeed an LLM-written sentence — not only does it employ an em dash, but also lists objects in a series — twice within the same sentence — typical LLM behavior that renders its output conspicuous, obvious, and readily apparent to HN readers.
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    turtletontine ◴[21 Oct 25 19:45 UTC] No.45660736[source]▶
    I think this article has already made the rounds here, but I still think about it. I love using em dashes! It really makes me sad that I need to avoid them now to sound human

    https://bassi.li/articles/i-miss-using-em-dashes

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    1. JumpCrisscross ◴[22 Oct 25 00:22 UTC] No.45663533[source]▶
    > I love using em dashes

    Keep using them. If someone is deducing from the use of an emdash that it's LLM produced, we've either lost the battle or they're an idiot.

    More pointedly, LLMs use emdashes in particular ways. Varying spacing around the em dash and using a double dash (--) could signal human writing.

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    2. calvinmorrison ◴[22 Oct 25 01:32 UTC] No.45663976[source]▶
    it's a shibboleth. In the same way we stopped using Pepe the frog when it became associated with the far right, we may eschew em dashes when associated with compuslop
    replies(1): >>45665526 #
    3. jdiff ◴[22 Oct 25 04:24 UTC] No.45664864[source]▶
    Unfortunately LLMs are pretty inconsistent in how they use em dashes. Often they will put spaces around them despite that not being "correct," something that's led me astray in making accusations of humanity in the past.
    replies(1): >>45665043 #
    4. jachee ◴[22 Oct 25 05:01 UTC] No.45665043[source]▶
    Depends on the style guide you’re following, apparently: The AP style guide says space around them[0]. Chicago Manual of Style says not to[1].

    0: https://www.prdaily.com/dashes-hyphens-ap-style/ 1: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/H...

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    5. lxgr ◴[22 Oct 25 06:24 UTC] No.45665501[source]▶
    The solution is clear: Unicode needs cryptographically signed dashes and whitespace characters.
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    6. lxgr ◴[22 Oct 25 06:28 UTC] No.45665526[source]▶
    I never understood why so many people would yield their symbols and language that quickly and freely to others they dislike.

    In other words, I really hope typographically correct dashes are not already 70% of the way through the hyperstitious slur cascade [1]!

    [1] https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/give-up-seventy-percent-of-...

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    7. TeMPOraL ◴[22 Oct 25 07:02 UTC] No.45665742[source]▶
    Tied to what?

    Show us a way to create a provably, cryptographically integrity-preserving chain from a person's thoughts to those thoughts expressed in a digital medium, and you may just get both the Nobel prize and a trial for crimes against humanity, for the same thing.

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    8. close04 ◴[22 Oct 25 07:58 UTC] No.45666066{3}[source]▶
    Why don't you come say that to my face?
    replies(1): >>45667504 #
    9. immibis ◴[22 Oct 25 08:09 UTC] No.45666142{3}[source]▶
    It was a joke.
    replies(1): >>45666399 #
    10. TeMPOraL ◴[22 Oct 25 08:49 UTC] No.45666399{4}[source]▶
    Ya think?
    replies(1): >>45668094 #
    11. lazide ◴[22 Oct 25 10:08 UTC] No.45666954{3}[source]▶
    The alternative is… what? ‘Defending’ against the use of Em-dashes by LLMs? Or people reacting to that?

    You might as well be sweeping a flood uphill.

    Tilting at windmills at least has a chance you might actually damage a windmill enough to do something, even if the original goal was a complete delusion.

    12. setopt ◴[22 Oct 25 10:11 UTC] No.45666968{3}[source]▶
    There’s also the difference between the conventional EU/UK style (spaced en-dash) vs. the common US style (unspaced em-dash).
    13. kragen ◴[22 Oct 25 10:56 UTC] No.45667287{3}[source]▶
    Thank you! I usually use THIN SPACE on each side of my em dashes (Compose Space Minus in https://github.com/kragen/xcompose ), but on HN that gets bashed to a regular space.
    14. close04 ◴[22 Oct 25 11:30 UTC] No.45667504{4}[source]▶
    It was a joke that aimed too high I guess, that LLMs can't yet fake face to face interaction.
    15. readmodifywrite ◴[22 Oct 25 12:14 UTC] No.45667885[source]▶
    Finally, a use case for blockchain!
    16. A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 ◴[22 Oct 25 12:34 UTC] No.45668094{5}[source]▶
    Honestly, these days, I am less and less sure.