Human intelligence can safeguard against artificial intelligence: individual differences in the discernment of human from AI texts

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) models can produce output that closely mimics human-generated content. We examined individual differences in the human ability to differentiate human- from AI-generated texts, exploring relationships with fluid intelligence, executive functioning, empathy, and digital habits. Overall, participants exhibited better than chance text discrimination, with substantial variation across individuals. Fluid intelligence strongly predicted differences in the ability to distinguish human from AI, but executive functioning and empathy did not. Meanwhile, heavier smartphone and social media use predicted misattribution of AI content (mistaking it for human). Determinations about the origin of encountered content also affected sharing preferences, with those who were better able to distinguish human from AI indicating a lower likelihood of sharing AI content online. Word-level differences in linguistic composition of the texts did not meaningfully influence participants’ judgements. These findings inform our understanding of how individual difference factors may shape the course of human interactions with AI-generated information. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-024-76218-y.