AI-generated poetry is now not only indistinguishable from human-written verse but is actually preferred by readers, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh. The study, conducted by Brian Porter and Edouard Machery and published in Scientific Reports, found that participants rated AI poems more favorably than works by renowned poets across multiple quality measures including rhythm, beauty, and emotional impact.
The researchers tested 1,634 participants who evaluated poems written by famous authors like Shakespeare and Sylvia Plath alongside verses created by ChatGPT 3.5. The study revealed that readers were more likely to misidentify AI-generated poems as human-written, with AI poems receiving consistently higher ratings for accessibility and clarity. The researchers suggest this preference stems from AI’s tendency to create more straightforward, easily understood poems compared to the complex metaphors often used by human poets.