When AI Changes the Words: How Language Is Being Transformed

“Hi teacher, could you please explain this paragraph better?” writes a student in a school chat. The message is clear, polite, error-free. Maybe even too perfect. It was written with ChatGPT. The student just had to feed in the main idea—AI did the rest, turning a rough thought into a smooth, well-structured sentence. But how much of that voice is still theirs?

Generative AI is slowly changing the way we communicate. School essays, business emails, even personal messages are beginning to sound more alike—smoother, more polished, more “correct.” But also more uniform. The promise of clarity and simplicity comes with the risk of linguistic flattening.

The words suggested by AI often lean toward neutrality. The tone becomes impersonal, the verbs more predictable, the structures more linear. This isn't always a bad thing: it helps those who struggle to express themselves, supports students and workers, and makes content more accessible. But over time, it may affect the richness and diversity of language.

Homogenization is subtle. A virtual assistant proposes “Dear customer” instead of “My dearest,” or “We are forwarding your request” instead of “Passing this on to you.” And it happens everywhere—from school bureaucracy to workplace chats. The result is a style of communication that increasingly sounds like itself, over and over again.

There’s also the issue of linguistic bias. AI is trained on pre-existing texts—texts shaped by cultures, hierarchies, and stereotypes. Unless corrected, these models risk amplifying subtle forms of discrimination. In our article “Bias Algorithmic: IA and Discrimination Invisible” we explore how closely AI-generated language should be monitored and evaluated.

At the same time, this communication shift presents real opportunities. AI can help overcome language barriers, simplify complex information, and offer support to those who struggle with written or spoken language. In schools, it can bridge gaps among students from diverse backgrounds. In business, it can streamline internal communication and clarify processes.

According to an article published by The Guardian, the everyday use of AI in language could contribute to a kind of standardized expression—but it might also expose new cultural trends. The words we choose—or those suggested to us—shape how we think. And that holds true even when the suggestion comes from an algorithm. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/01/how-ai-is-changing-language-communication)

In the end, AI isn’t just writing for us. It’s modifying the tone of conversations, influencing our daily vocabulary, suggesting new idioms, erasing old ones. It’s a quiet, gradual, yet deeply transformative process.

Recognizing it is the first step in preserving our authentic voice—even in a world where writing has become easier than ever. Because every word, even one proposed by a machine, says something about who we are.