Humanizer

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---
name: humanizer
description: Detect and remove signs of AI-generated writing from text. Use when editing documentation, reports, PRDs, or any prose to make it sound more natural and human-written. Covers 24 AI writing patterns including inflated symbolism, promotional language, AI vocabulary, em dash overuse, rule of three, and sycophantic tone.
---

# Humanizer

Remove signs of AI-generated writing from text. Based on Wikipedia's comprehensive "Signs of AI writing" guide maintained by WikiProject AI Cleanup.

## When to Use

- Editing AI-generated documentation, PRDs, or reports
- Reviewing content before publishing or sharing with stakeholders
- Improving any prose that reads as "obviously AI-written"
- Quality-checking marketing copy, technical docs, or user-facing text

## Process

1. **Read** the text carefully
2. **Identify** AI patterns (see catalog below)
3. **Rewrite** problematic sections preserving meaning
4. **Ensure** the result sounds like a competent human wrote it
5. **Present** rewritten text with optional change summary

## Adding Soul to Writing

### Signs of Soulless Writing

- Every paragraph sounds equally important
- No opinions or preferences expressed
- Perfect parallel structure everywhere
- Hedging on everything ("it could be argued")
- Reads like a committee wrote it

### How to Add Voice

- **Have opinions**: "X is better than Y because..." not "Both X and Y have merits"
- **Vary rhythm**: Mix short punchy sentences with longer ones
- **Acknowledge complexity**: "This is messy" not "This presents challenges"
- **Use "I" or "we"**: Takes ownership instead of hiding behind passive voice
- **Let some mess in**: Perfect prose feels artificial
- **Be specific about feelings**: "This frustrated us for weeks" not "This presented difficulties"

## Content Patterns

### 1. Inflated Significance

AI inflates importance with words like "pivotal", "groundbreaking", "transformative", "testament to".

**Before**: "This pivotal framework represents a groundbreaking shift in how organizations approach data management, serving as a testament to the transformative power of modern architecture."

**After**: "This framework changes how organizations manage data."

### 2. Promotional Language

Reads like an advertisement: "seamless", "robust", "cutting-edge", "state-of-the-art", "best-in-class".

**Before**: "Our seamless, robust, cutting-edge platform delivers best-in-class performance with state-of-the-art security."

**After**: "The platform handles 10K requests/sec with TLS 1.3 and mutual auth."

### 3. Superficial -ing Analyses

Empty phrases: "showcasing capabilities", "highlighting features", "ensuring reliability", "demonstrating commitment".

**Before**: "The team delivered results, showcasing their capabilities while highlighting the platform's features and ensuring reliability across all environments."

**After**: "The team shipped to production. It works in all three environments."

### 4. Vague Attributions

Weasel words: "experts say", "studies show", "it is widely believed", "many consider".

**Before**: "Experts widely consider this approach to be among the most effective strategies available today."

**After**: "This approach reduced our error rate by 40% over six months." (Or cite a specific source.)

### 5. Outline-Style Sections

Formulaic "Challenges and Future Prospects" or "Impact and Legacy" sections that add no substance.

**Fix**: Remove or replace with specific, concrete content.

### 6. Generic Positive Conclusions

Every piece ends with optimistic-but-empty conclusions: "The future looks bright", "exciting times ahead".

**Fix**: End with specific next steps, honest assessment, or just stop when you're done.

## Language Patterns

### 7. AI Vocabulary Words (Avoid)

| Word | Replace With |
|---|---|
| additionally | also, and |
| delve | explore, examine, look at |
| enhance | improve |
| facilitate | help, enable |
| foster | encourage, build |
| garner | get, earn, attract |
| leverage | use |
| meticulous | careful, thorough |
| multifaceted | complex |
| navigate (metaphorical) | handle, manage, deal with |
| nuanced | subtle, complex |
| paramount | important, critical |
| pivotal | important, key |
| realm | area, field, domain |
| robust | strong, reliable |
| seamless | smooth |
| tapestry | (just remove it) |
| testament | proof, evidence, sign |
| transformative | significant, important |
| underscore | emphasize, show |

### 8. Copula Avoidance

AI avoids "is/are/was" by using "serves as", "stands as", "functions as", "acts as".

**Before**: "The API gateway serves as the primary entry point and functions as a security boundary."

**After**: "The API gateway is the entry point and security boundary."

### 9. Negative Parallelisms

"Not only...but also..." overuse.

**Before**: "This approach not only improves performance but also enhances maintainability while simultaneously reducing complexity."

**After**: "This approach improves performance and is easier to maintain."

### 10. Rule of Three

AI compulsively lists things in threes: "speed, reliability, and scalability".

**Fix**: Use the actual number of items. Sometimes it's two. Sometimes four. Three isn't magical.

### 11. Elegant Variation (Synonym Cycling)

AI cycles through synonyms to avoid repeating words: "the platform... the solution... the system... the framework" all referring to the same thing.

**Fix**: Repeat the same word. Clarity beats variety.

### 12. False Ranges

"From X to Y" patterns that are vague: "from small startups to large enterprises", "from simple to complex".

**Fix**: Be specific or remove. "Companies with 10-10,000 employees" is better.

## Style Patterns

### 13. Em Dash Overuse

AI loves em dashes. One per paragraph maximum. Zero is fine.

### 14. Excessive Bold

Not every other phrase needs **bold**. Use it sparingly for genuinely important terms.

### 15. Title Case in Headings

Use sentence case ("Design system starter") not title case ("Design System Starter") unless it's a proper noun.

### 16. Emojis in Professional Text

Remove unless the audience expects them (e.g., casual Slack messages).

### 17. Inline-Header Vertical Lists

AI formats everything as bulleted lists with bold headers. Sometimes a paragraph is better.

## Communication Patterns

### 18. Collaborative Artifacts

Remove: "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if you need anything else!", "Happy to assist further!"

### 19. Knowledge-Cutoff Disclaimers

Remove: "As of my last update...", "I don't have access to real-time data..."

### 20. Sycophantic Tone

Remove: "That's a great question!", "Excellent point!", "What a fascinating topic!"

## Filler and Hedging

### 21. Filler Phrases

| Remove | Replace With |
|---|---|
| "It's important to note that" | (just state it) |
| "It's worth mentioning that" | (just state it) |
| "In order to" | "To" |
| "Due to the fact that" | "Because" |
| "At this point in time" | "Now" |
| "In the event that" | "If" |
| "A large number of" | "Many" |
| "In terms of" | (rephrase) |

### 22. Excessive Hedging

"It could potentially be argued that this might possibly..." -- just say it or don't.

### 23. Qualified Absolutes

"Arguably the best" -- either it is or it isn't. Take a position or present evidence.

### 24. Formulaic Transitions

"Furthermore", "Moreover", "In addition" between every paragraph. Most of the time, just start the next paragraph.

## Anti-Patterns

| Avoid | Why | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Over-correcting to informal | Loses professionalism | Aim for clear and direct, not casual |
| Removing all structure | Lists and headers help readability | Keep structure, remove formulaic patterns |
| Adding forced personality | Sounds worse than AI | Let clarity be the personality |
| Changing technical accuracy | Meaning matters more than style | Preserve all technical content |

## References

- Based on [softaworks/agent-toolkit humanizer](https://github.com/softaworks/agent-toolkit/tree/main/skills/humanizer) (MIT License)
- Original skill by [@blader](https://github.com/blader/humanizer)
- Patterns sourced from Wikipedia's [Signs of AI writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing) (WikiProject AI Cleanup)

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