Medium's Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Writing

Here is Medium's stance on AI writing. 
https://blog.medium.com/medium-is-for-human-storytelling-not-ai-generated-writing-b5f7ffdc96cf

AI writing is allowed on Medium. However, fully generated AI writing will not receive enhanced distribution, such as our new program "Boost." You can read more about our Distribution guidelines in this article

 

What to do if you have AI content in your feed

Please do not flag the story as a violation. Rather, tell us you want less of this content.
From your home feed or any story page:

  • Find and click the 3-dot menu (...) by the story title or on the story page
  • Click "Show less"


If you are getting this content in your feeds like this that you don't like, you should block them, or use the "show less like this" tool, That will train the recommendations engine to not present it anymore.  


Our stance on AI writing
While we do use some AI detections, there is no 100% foolproof method. Anything that is confirmed or suspected of being fully AI written does not get enhanced distribution, and generally only networks out to direct followers of the author. But we don't take any automatic actions against detected or suspected AI content, because there is no reliable system that is free of false positives. 

Many people have concerns that AI content writers are gaming the system to receive more distribution, or to earn more money in the Partner Program. This isn't really possible. These systems are constantly observed and adjusted, and we aren't unaware of people trying to game it. 


The earnings calculation is built to prevent for any gamification, and merely publishing a lot doesn't really impact earnings. The algorithm accommodates for a lot of publishing, be it AI or human written. There are many, many fully-human written accounts that publish the daily maximum as well. What matters is genuine Member engagement. 

Additionally, follower count or growth doesn't have any impact on distribution or earnings in any significant capacity. Again, we accommodate for this. Follower growth without audience attention isn't a factor in any any of the systems.  

The way Medium works is if people don't value the content, you don't really earn anything. They can use the block or "show less" buttons to not read the content, and it then won't earn on Member engagement. 

 

Additionally, the free versions of AI writing that people are mostly using on Medium are really bad, and possibly getting worse as it trains on itself. You get what you pay for. 

So ultimately, the quality and attention just isn't there. And low-quality writing doesn't earn, or dilute the available pool of money. That's how the system is designed. 

 

What to do if you have AI content in your feed

From your home feed or any story page:

Find and click the 3-dot menu (...)

Click "Show less:


If you are getting this content in your feeds like this that you don't like, you should block them, or use the "show less like this" tool, That will train the recommendations engine to not present it anymore.  

So while it looks like certain accounts may be having success on Medium based on the available public-facing measurements (such as followers, responses, claps, or other signals), they really aren't. And they certainly aren't taking any attention or earnings away from other authors or Partners. 
 

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