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LLMs can get "brain rot"

(llm-brain-rot.github.io)
466 points tamnd | 6 comments | 21 Oct 25 14:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | 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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jader201 ◴[21 Oct 25 21:29 UTC] No.45661962[source]▶
Same here. I recently learned it was an LLM thing, and I've been using them forever.

Also relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45226150

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1. tkgally ◴[22 Oct 25 00:49 UTC] No.45663703[source]▶
> I’ve been using them forever.

Many other HN contributors have, too. Here’s the pre-ChatGPT em dash leaderboard:

https://www.gally.net/miscellaneous/hn-em-dash-user-leaderbo...

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2. walkabout ◴[22 Oct 25 01:59 UTC] No.45664116[source]▶
This would be a pretty hilarious board for anyone who likes the em-dash and who has had many fairly active accounts (one at a time) on here due to periodically scrambling their passwords to avoid getting attached to high karma or to take occasional breaks from the site. Should there be such people.
3. Ericson2314 ◴[22 Oct 25 04:58 UTC] No.45665032[source]▶
Can anyone make it go beyond 200? I feel like I deserve to be somewhere in there — at least I would be sad if I didn't make top 1000!
4. rileytg ◴[22 Oct 25 05:07 UTC] No.45665076[source]▶
i suspect it’s a trait of programmers, we like control flow type things. i used to find myself nesting parenthesis…
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5. kragen ◴[22 Oct 25 10:59 UTC] No.45667303[source]▶
Thank you for this! Apparently I'm #4 by total em-dash uses, #14 by average em dashes per comment, and #4 at max em dashes per comment, since apparently I posted a comment containing 18 em dashes once.
6. kragen ◴[22 Oct 25 11:01 UTC] No.45667311[source]▶
Also we like text (maybe not as an inherent thing but as a selection bias) and we're more likely to have customized our keyboard setup than random people off the street.