I agree with the premise, but not the conclusion. Some readers can tell, but others (possibly many) won’t. I see it more as a matter of mediocrity vs. greatness. LLMs can produce true, accurate content, even if they usually don’t. But even the best examples I’ve seen are painfully mediocre.

Your overall point, though, squares with something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I’m reminded of the park bench scene in Good Will Hunting, where Sean tells Will “If I asked you about love you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone could level you with her eyes.”

LLMs can’t generate the kind of unique, specific, and personal perspective that defines great art, and that’s by design. It can only repeat, mix, and match, much like the Will Hunting we meet at the beginning of the movie who could impress us with his encyclopedic knowledge and photographic memory but lacked the kind of knowledge crucial for truly understanding himself and the world around him.

Humans crave human interaction, as you point out. We’re already tiring of the slop. Personally, I think it’s never been a better time to be a writer.