active · construct · first recorded 2026-07-02 · registers: hn, parenting
Hedging with vibes. Where a human states an opinion or a fact, models report an impression: “this feels like a step change”. Roughly 10× the human rate.
…has started to affect my motivation and feels like it's hindering my growth…
…a keyboard that feels like it could double as a paperweight…
occurrences per 10k words, measured 2026-07 (run #2: 3 current + 3 vintage models, 3 matched registers, 1,392 samples)
| current AI | vintage AI (2024/25) | humans (matched) | canon (great pre-AI prose) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pooled | 2.79 | 3.55 | 0.45 | 0.28 |
| hn | 5.48 | — | 0.71 | |
| cooking | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | |
| parenting | 1.92 | — | 0.34 | |
| 1.09 | — | — |
regex: \b(this |it )?feels like\b