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LLMs can get "brain rot"

(llm-brain-rot.github.io)
466 points tamnd | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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avazhi ◴[] 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 ◴[] 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 ◴[] 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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JumpCrisscross ◴[] 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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1. jdiff ◴[] 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.
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2. jachee ◴[] 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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3. setopt ◴[] No.45666968[source]
There’s also the difference between the conventional EU/UK style (spaced en-dash) vs. the common US style (unspaced em-dash).
4. kragen ◴[] No.45667287[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.