AI and the EM dash

No one has ever said anything to me, but I’ve seen more and more comments that any writing with an em dash was generated by AI.

First of all, I have not, nor will I ever use generative A.I.!

With that being said, you can't really avoid A.I. anymore if you are writing with a phone, tablet or computer. The operating system and apps always try to correct your spelling and grammar and sometimes even try to predict words as you type, but the ideas and thoughts are 100% mine! Sure the helpers are sometimes handy, but I find they are incorrect probably 10 to 25% of the time, depending on what I'm writing.

They also CAUSE more typos than they prevent when you're dealing with words and names that exist in the worlds I'm writing about.

I’ve always used em dashes AND the ellipsis depending on the type of pause I want. I typically use an ellipsis as sort of a trailing off thought, whereas I use em dashes when speech gets cut off or I specifically want a pause in what is being said.