AI detectors are creating a new era of distrust

<figure> <img alt="A book that is being scanned for possibility of AI-generated text" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/268680_AI_detection_CVirginia-.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>This is </em><a href="https://www.theverge.com/the-stepback-newsletter">The Stepback</a><em>, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about how AI is changing our daily lives, follow </em><a href="https://www.theverge.com/authors/emma-roth"><em>Emma Roth</em></a><em>. </em>The Stepback<em> arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for </em>The Stepback<em> </em><a href="https://www.theverge.com/newsletters"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">How it started</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Long before ChatGPT became a thing, educators and editors frequently used anti-plagiarism tools to see if writers were being honest about their work. These tools work by comparing a written work against a database filled with content from across the web, scholarly articles, and more to check for matching sentences and phrases. Some, like Turnitin, offer a percentage th …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/column/976690/ai-writing-detectors-suspicion">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>