Ask HN: Add flag for AI-generated articles

Post by matheusmoreira » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:59 AM UTC

avaer wrote: post #53

dang wrote: post #42

We don't allow genai text on HN itself - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#generated and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47340079 . How to enforce it is a separate question, of course, but the rule exists. We don't have a similar rule yet about article content but my sense is that the community mostly doesn't want to read it—or, to put it more conservatively, discounts it. This is why we see s…

I hope HN doesn't get into moderating the politics of articles. I can see a grim future (present?) where "AI generated" turns into a slur, warranted or otherwise, in a world where the difference between human trained to talk like an AI and AI masquerading as human becomes increasingly difficult to discern, and some hidden cabal passes judgement. That is wholly different from taking a stance on HN being a place for hu…

Post by archagon » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:04 AM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #65

jorvi wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The times I've pointed point out pretty blatant AI comments, I get nuked with downvotes. So often that I've stopped pointing them out. Before you say I'm just falsely calling them out, it's typical ChatGPT style of either very amicable or Nobel Laureate tone, lots of formatting, with a couple of paragraphs and then a clever one-line punchline at the end. If you look at those commenters their history, it's all like th…

IMO posting "This article is AI" does not add anything to the conversation. The HN guidelines[1] include: Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. and Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. I'd argue pointing out that you thi…

Post by fuckaiwriter » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:06 AM UTC

ldoughty wrote: post #40

jaredcwhite wrote: post #11

I'm of the deepest conviction AI-generated text should not show up at all. Proving that however can be difficult (obvious LLM tells aside). Requiring evidence of authentic human authorship is also difficult, though increasingly I lean towards communities where that is a given for any legitimate shares.

What qualifies as AI generated? If a human writes it then has AI improve/fix it, does that count? How do you tell which is the case? If we don't allow AI help at all, is that perhaps discriminating against those who don't feel comfortable posting with imperfect English? I agree in principle, but am concerned in implementation... I'm not sure we can be fair without high risk of discrimination Edit: typo fix Edit: or a…

Post by fuckaiwriter » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:07 AM UTC

smallerfish wrote: post #66

The voting system could be enough if downvoting was added. AI writing is not the problem - low effort is the problem. Low effort AI articles are full of tics which are obvious, if you've done a lot of AI writing. To write well with AI you need to spend a good deal of time editing. If you submit something that's low effort but has a clickbait headline that appeals to HN, you may well make the front page even if the ar…

Post by asdff » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:08 AM UTC

avaer wrote: post #53

dang wrote: post #42

We don't allow genai text on HN itself - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#generated and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47340079 . How to enforce it is a separate question, of course, but the rule exists. We don't have a similar rule yet about article content but my sense is that the community mostly doesn't want to read it—or, to put it more conservatively, discounts it. This is why we see s…

I hope HN doesn't get into moderating the politics of articles. I can see a grim future (present?) where "AI generated" turns into a slur, warranted or otherwise, in a world where the difference between human trained to talk like an AI and AI masquerading as human becomes increasingly difficult to discern, and some hidden cabal passes judgement. That is wholly different from taking a stance on HN being a place for hu…