A free, daily newsletter for anyone who loves science, inspiration and awe ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
July 10, 2025—Each chatbot seems to have its own writing style. Plus, four types of autism identified, and heat waves could shut down AI data centers. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Muharrem Huner/Getty Images | | Every person has a unique way of expressing themselves depending on their native language, age, gender, education and other factors, writes linguist Karolina Rudnicka. This is known as an idiolect. In a recent investigation comparing the writing styles of two large-language models—ChatGPT and Gemini—Rudnicka found that chatbots have their own idiolects too. With the help of a previously developed formula, she computed a measurable difference between the two texts, which revealed that the LLMs indeed had their own idiolect. Rudnicka also analyzed excerpts on diabetes produced by the two chatbots. ChatGPT's text tended to be more formal, clinical and academic; it used phrases like "individuals with diabetes" and "the development of." Meanwhile, Gemini's were more conversational and explanatory, using phrases such as "the way of," "the cascade of" and "sugar" instead of "glucose."How this happens: There are a few possible explanations. One is that once a word or phrase becomes a part of their language portfolio during training, the models might continue using it and combine it with comparable expressions, similar to how we use our favorite words or phrases repeatedly. Another possibility is that the LLM could be priming itself with words it has previously used, making it more inclined to use that word again. Their idiolects may have also evolved unpredictably, based on the sheer quantity of data the models are trained on, something researchers call "emergent abilities."
Why this matters: The fact that LLM-based tools produce different idiolects—which might change and develop across updates or new versions—matters for the ongoing debate regarding how far AI is from achieving human-level intelligence, writes Rudnicka. "Meanwhile, knowing that LLMs write in idiolects could help determine if an essay or an article was produced by a model or by a particular individual—just as you might recognize a friend's message in a group chat by their signature style." —Andrea Tamayo, newsletter intern
| | Eve Lu; Source: Karolina Rudnicka (data) | | | | |
João José Mendes de Oliveira and Karetta, a five-year-old German Shepherd, work to stop turtle poachers in Sal Rei, in the Cabo Verde islands. "The illegal hunters usually leave something behind—a piece of clothing, or even a footprint," says Mendes de Oliveira. "The dog can smell that evidence and lead law-enforcement officers to the poacher." Their efforts are working, he says, but there's more work to do. "Although poaching has been reduced, many turtles are injured or killed owing to sea pollution such as fish lines and fishing nets." Nature | 3 min read | | - Today marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Scopes "monkey trial" in Tennessee, in which John Scopes was found guilty of breaking a law against teaching human evolution in school (the ruling was eventually overturned on a technicality). "One hundred years after that famous trial, education in the U.S. is still under attack from the same antiscience political forces," write the editors of Scientific American in the July/August issue. "We must protect every child's right to a public education that is free of religious indoctrination and prepares them to navigate the many challenges of the real world as modern science understands it." | 4 min read
| | In the mid 1600s Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei came out in support of the heliocentric model, which placed the Sun (rather than the Earth) at the center of the known universe. This view, based on Copernican theory and Galileo's own observations with newly-invented telescopes, challenged the Church's geocentric teachings rooted in scripture. Church authorities saw his ideas as heretical and feared they undermined religious doctrine. The scientist was forced to recant and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Galileo's case is one of the most famous examples of suppressed scientific discovery at the hands of religious ideology, but it certainly hasn't been the last. As much as possible, science must operate free from doctrine or dogma. | | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor
| | | | |
Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. | | | | |
