AI writing bots are like 1,000 monkeys with 1,000 typewriters

Android figures
(Image credit: Jerry Hildenbrand / Android Central)

AI can be used to do a lot of things. You can use it to drive a car (sometimes poorly), detect cancer, improve photographs, and even write papers and blog posts. That doesn't mean it's very good at it, though. 

I've been intrigued by the growing number of AI bots that are designed to write lately and have been messing with them. I mean why wouldn't I be — these are the robots who can put me out of a job, right? Not really.

I'm not the world's greatest writer and I am the first person to admit that. I think I make up for it in other areas where I'm highly qualified, so it all balances out. Having said that, I am leagues better than any bot when it comes to creating content. That's because AI writing bots still suck when it comes to the one thing they are supposed to be able to do — write.

Are you not convinced? I used copy ai, a well-regarded AI platform, to build a blog post so I could insert it here for us all to read. What follows is the raw output from this experiment.


The Pixel 7 is Google's best phone yet

I've always been a bit of an Android fan, but I've also loved all the features that Apple introduced in recent years. So when Google finally announced the Pixel 7 last month, I knew it was time to take the plunge and make a switch. Here are my first impressions after using the new phone for about two weeks:

The screen is AMAZING

The Pixel 7 has a gorgeous screen. From the moment you turn it on, you’ll be able to tell that this is one of Google’s best displays yet. The colors are rich and vibrant without being oversaturated, and the blacks are deep. The resolution is high enough that everything looks crisp when viewed from an arm’s length away (or farther), so even if you aren't looking at web pages or text messages in portrait mode, everything still looks great.

The screen is big, but not too big for my hands — I find it easy to reach every corner of its 6-inch diagonal size with no issues whatsoever. And while it may seem like a minor point, I love that there are no borders around the edges of the display; they blend into its body seamlessly so that there's nothing distracting me from whatever I'm working on or playing at any given time.

The camera is unreal

You read that right: The Pixel 7 is one of the best cameras on a smartphone, period. It has all of the features and settings you'd expect from a high-end camera, but with one major difference: It's always in your pocket.

The Pixel 7 can take excellent photos in any situation—low light or otherwise. The phone's Night Sight feature lets you take photos that are so clear they look like they were shot during the day (and don't think for a second that it's just because your eyes haven't adjusted to darkness). If there isn't much light available at all, the Pixel 7 will use an algorithm to brighten up those scenes without washing out details or causing weird distortions—it produces some truly beautiful results.

The battery life is just right

The Pixel 7 is packed with a 3,600 mAh battery, which is big enough to last you a full day and night. It also charges quickly, thanks to the fast Qi wireless charging option (which I love). The phone has Quick Charge 2.0 support as well, so if you're in a pinch, it'll be able to pump out juice pretty efficiently.

It has a headphone jack!

The Pixel 7 has a headphone jack! Yes, the iPhone and other phones have ditched it in favor of wireless audio. But the Pixel 7 is here to remind you that there are still some things that you can't improve on, and your wired headphones are one of them.

While everyone is losing their minds over how little storage space the Pixel 7 actually comes with (128GB), I've been using it for months now and haven't run into any problems whatsoever with my photos or videos taking up too much space. Plus, if you're worried about running out of room to store those selfies on social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, just remember: there's always Google Photos (and its unlimited backup feature).

Android 11 is great so far.

Android 11 is great so far. The phone is fast and responsive, and the new features are fun to use. It's also neat that you can use a variety of gestures to navigate around your phone (like swiping up from the bottom edge), which makes it easier to access certain functions without having to reach for the screen.

Android 11 also has some cool new features that are helpful for people who need accessibility options. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, there's an option where you can read text aloud by holding down on certain parts of your screen; if you're visually impaired, there's a "Find My Phone" feature that lets you find your lost device by ringing for 30 seconds—with customizable audio prompts telling you how far away it is from where you're standing (or sitting); if English isn't your first language and voice recognition isn't quite as accurate as Google claims it should be, there's an "Undo" option that lets you undo an action after speaking out loud with just one tap; there are also plenty more accessibility features available under Settings > Accessibility

I'm so glad I got this new phone!

I'm so glad I got this new phone! I love it! It's the best phone ever! I'm going to tell everyone about it! And no, we don't have any connection with Google or Pixel 7. We just really like the new phone and can't wait to show you how awesome it is.

I've been using my boyfriend's old Pixel 2 for years now, but after seeing all the features on this new one, there was no way I could resist upgrading. The camera is incredible, the screen is beautiful, and there are some amazing new features that make it feel like less of a tablet and more like an actual phone (which was something that was lacking in previous versions).

The Pixel 7 is a great phone. I hope you enjoyed this review, and that it helped you decide if this phone is right for you. If you want more information on the Pixel 7 or other phones, check out my website at [link to your website] where I have reviews of all types of phones!


There are some obvious issues

A blog post wizard

(Image credit: Future)

Remember, this is not what any human being here at Android Central thinks of the Pixel 7 or anything else. This is an algorithm that has cobbled together a string of words and claims they make for a blog post. It's also a god-awful mess and a waste of internet space.

You can see the obvious errors — headphone jacks, Android 11, listing the wrong screen size, and the rest. You might also be able to spot some other problems, like claiming that people feel that other phones are just glorified tablets when the reverse is closer to the mark or that most people think 128GB of storage is shockingly little. these assumptions are best left unsaid because they aren't true for a lot of folks.

These alone make this test a failure.

Less obvious but more troubling

The Pixel 7 lying in red leaves

(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)

Once you get past the glaring issues you can take a second look and find some more worrisome problems. Like plagiarism.

If you thought this read a lot like real reviews of the Pixel 7 you're right. It's obvious that the internet is used to train this AI, which means it uses words from real people and real tech reviewers as if they were original. Yes, there are only so many ways to say the camera is great blah blah blah, but the only way a robot could write them is to copy them from someone else.

Believe it or not, this isn't my biggest issue with the output from this blog-bot. That would be this: 

"And no, we don't have any connection with Google or Pixel 7. We just really like the new phone and can't wait to show you how awesome it is."

The software automatically inserted a disclaimer into the copy without any way of knowing how true it would be. I'm sure copy.ai has no connection to Google (though Google does have its own AI writing platform) and neither does Android Central so it's fine in this instance, but that doesn't mean this will always be OK to do. If a blog author — whether human or robot — doesn't have integrity it's time to stop reading.

Conclusion

You've read these AI-powered blog posts before even if you didn't know it. Think of those horrible posts that somehow find their way into the first page of Google and don't answer any questions or give you any information. You know, the ones with weirdly artificial language that repeat certain keywords over and over, usually making you click to get to the next page.

Now you know why you think those websites suck — they are bots. Anyway, I'll leave you with my final thoughts:

The Pixel 7 AI blog post-writing-bot is a great terrible phone product. I hope you enjoyed this review, and that it helped you decide if this phone is right for you you shouldn't be trying to fool your teacher by spending $14.99 on AI writing software.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.