In an age of AI, do typos signal authenticity?
Tuesday, 05/26/2026
Last Updated: Tuesday, 05/26/2026
By Noor HindiTypos once signaled sloppy writing. But in an age of AI-generated writing, University of Michigan School of Information Nicole Ellison says small errors may indicate authenticity and effort.
Ellison, an expert in online communication, says typos can sometimes signal that a real person is behind the words.
“A typo maybe signals that you actually do care,” she says. “because you took the time to write it yourself.”
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Read “The Typo Vibe Shift” in The Atlantic. (Linked content may be behind a paywall.)
Learn more about Nicole Ellison’s research about online communication by visiting her UMSI faculty profile.
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Nicole Ellison
Karl E Weick Collegiate Professor of Information, Professor of Information, School of Information, Professor of Communication and Media and Professor in the Digital Studies Institute, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts