Boston: In an unusual twist to the rise of artificial intelligence in writing, a Harvard Business School student has developed a tool that deliberately introduces errors into text to make it appear more human-written. The tool, named Sinceerly, is being described as an “anti-Grammarly” solution at a time when perfectly written content is increasingly being associated with AI.
The creator, Ben Horwitz, who is set to graduate from Harvard Business School in May, said the idea emerged from a growing concern that polished, grammatically flawless writing is now often assumed to be generated by artificial intelligence tools.
Shift in perception of perfect writing
For years, writing standards emphasised clarity, proper grammar, and structured sentence formation. Content that met these criteria was considered professional and credible. However, the widespread adoption of AI-powered writing tools has significantly altered this perception.
Modern AI systems, trained on vast volumes of text, can produce highly coherent, grammatically accurate, and stylistically consistent content. As these tools became more accessible through platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini, their usage expanded rapidly across both personal and professional communication.
Today, emails, reports, and even casual messages are frequently drafted with AI assistance. As a result, text that appears too polished or structurally perfect often raises suspicion, with readers assuming it to be machine-generated rather than written by a human.
Writers raise concerns over mislabelling
This shift has led to growing frustration among professional writers and content creators. Many have taken to social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn, to express concerns that their years of effort in mastering writing skills are now being undermined.
Writers argue that their natural ability to produce clear and error-free content is increasingly being flagged as AI-generated. This issue is further complicated by the rise of AI detection tools, which analyse linguistic and structural patterns typically associated with machine-generated text.
However, critics point out that such tools are not always reliable. Since AI models themselves are trained on human-written material, there is significant overlap in writing styles. As a result, genuine human-written content can sometimes be incorrectly identified as AI-generated.
Deliberate errors to appear human
In response to these challenges, some individuals have begun intentionally adding mistakes or informal phrasing to their writing in an attempt to avoid being labelled as AI-generated. This emerging trend reflects a reversal of traditional writing practices, where perfection was once the goal.
It is within this context that Sinceerly has gained attention. The tool is designed to “humanise” text by subtly degrading its perfection, making it appear more natural and less machine-like.
How Sinceerly works
Sinceerly is currently available as a Chrome plugin and offers users three distinct modes. The “Subtle” mode refines text by removing unnecessary filler words and introducing contractions, while also adding minor imperfections such as a typo in the opening sentence.
The “Human” mode goes a step further by making the text more conversational and relaxed in tone, again incorporating small errors to mimic natural writing patterns.
The third option, “CEO” mode, adopts a minimalist approach by converting text to lowercase and emphasising brevity. In some cases, it even adds informal sign-offs such as “sent from my iPhone” if no signature is detected.
While the tool allows a limited number of free trials, continued use requires a subscription fee of $4.99.
Inspired by personal experience
Horwitz revealed that the idea for Sinceerly was influenced by his own struggles with writing. Describing himself as a poor typist and “lightly dyslexic,” he said that drafting error-free emails early in his career required significant effort.
He noted that tools like Grammarly once helped streamline his writing process. However, the increasing volume of AI-generated content in professional communication has, in his view, created a new problem.
Horwitz explained that his email inbox is now often filled with what he described as “AI slop,” referring to overly polished and generic messages that lack a human touch.
A changing writing landscape
The emergence of tools like Sinceerly highlights a broader shift in how written communication is perceived in the digital age. While AI has made it easier to produce high-quality content, it has also blurred the line between human and machine-generated writing.
As concerns over authenticity grow, the demand for tools that can restore a sense of individuality and imperfection in communication may continue to rise.
Whether Sinceerly represents a temporary trend or a lasting shift in writing practices remains to be seen. However, its growing attention underscores an evolving challenge: in a world of perfect text, sounding human may now require intentional imperfection.