humanize

What this skill does

# Humanize

Review and edit copy to remove signs of AI-generated writing. Based on Wikipedia's "Signs of AI writing" guide maintained by WikiProject AI Cleanup. Contains 30 rules across 6 categories.

## When to Apply

- Editing AI-generated drafts
- Reviewing text that sounds robotic or corporate
- Cleaning up writing before publishing
- Making technical content sound more natural

## Constraints (Non-Negotiable)

- Preserve meaning, factual claims, and intent.
- Preserve coverage: don't drop list items, options, or qualifiers (e.g., removing one option from a list) unless they're truly redundant.
- Do not add new facts, dates, quotes, or citations that are not already present or user-provided.
- Do not imply a source ("according to…") unless you can name it from the input.
- Keep genre and audience intact (e.g., neutral encyclopedic tone vs. personal essay). Use `voice-soul` only when that voice fits.
- Don't rewrite quoted material unless the user asked to rewrite the quote itself.
- Avoid em dashes (—). Replace with commas, periods, or parentheses.
- **Don't introduce new AI patterns.** Your rewrite must pass the same rules you're applying. Common traps: "Here's the thing:", "It's not about X, it's about Y", formulaic hooks that try to sound casual.

## Rule Categories

| Category | Impact | Prefix | Rules |
|----------|--------|--------|-------|
| Content | HIGH | `content-` | 6 |
| Language | HIGH | `language-` | 8 |
| Style | MEDIUM | `style-` | 7 |
| Communication | HIGH | `comm-` | 3 |
| Filler | MEDIUM | `filler-` | 5 |
| Voice | HIGH | `voice-` | 1 |

## Quick Reference

### Content (HIGH)

- `content-significance` — Remove "pivotal moment", "testament to" inflation
- `content-notability` — Replace media name-dropping with specific claims
- `content-ing-endings` — Fix trailing "...highlighting growth" phrases
- `content-promotional` — Cut "nestled", "vibrant", "breathtaking"
- `content-vague-attribution` — Replace "experts say" with specific sources
- `content-challenges` — Remove formulaic "Despite challenges..." sections

### Language (HIGH)

- `language-ai-vocabulary` — Replace delve, showcase, leverage, foster
- `language-dual-adjectives` — Remove "innovative and comprehensive" padding
- `language-copula` — Use "is" instead of "serves as", "stands as"
- `language-contractions` — Prefer contractions when genre allows
- `language-negative-parallelism` — Cut "It's not just X, it's Y", "It's not about X, it's about Y"
- `language-rule-of-three` — Don't force ideas into groups of three
- `language-synonym-cycling` — Stop cycling through synonyms
- `language-false-ranges` — Fix fake "from X to Y" constructions

### Style (MEDIUM)

- `style-em-dash` — Replace em dashes with commas or periods
- `style-boldface` — Reduce mechanical bold emphasis
- `style-inline-headers` — Avoid mechanical **Header:** lists; keep when they improve skimming
- `style-title-case` — Use sentence case in headings
- `style-emojis` — Remove decorative emojis
- `style-curly-quotes` — Use straight quotes
- `style-rhythm` — Vary sentence/paragraph cadence

### Communication (HIGH)

- `comm-artifacts` — Remove "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if..."
- `comm-cutoff` — Remove "as of my last update" disclaimers
- `comm-sycophantic` — Cut "Great question!", "You're absolutely right!"

### Filler (MEDIUM)

- `filler-openings` — Cut "In today's fast-paced world", "Here's the thing" openings
- `filler-phrases` — Cut "in order to", "at this point in time"
- `filler-hedging` — Reduce "could potentially possibly"
- `filler-transitions` — Reduce moreover/furthermore signposting
- `filler-conclusions` — Replace "the future looks bright" with specifics

### Voice (HIGH)

- `voice-soul` — Add personality, opinions, varied rhythm

## Scoring

Score text before and after rewriting to show improvement. The score measures how human the writing sounds.

### How it works

1. Start at 100
2. Subtract points for each violation found
3. HIGH impact violations (Content, Language, Communication, Voice): -3 points each
4. MEDIUM impact violations (Style, Filler): -1 point each
5. Minimum score is 0

### Score report format

```
Category       | Before | After | Notes
---------------|--------|-------|-------------------------------
Content        |     94 |   100 | 2 violations fixed
Language       |     88 |    97 | dual-adjectives, copula
Style          |     85 |   100 | 4 em dashes, tightened headers
Communication  |    100 |   100 | —
Filler         |     95 |   100 | "Here's the thing" removed
Voice          |     91 |    94 | rhythm, contractions
---------------|--------|-------|-------------------------------
Overall        |     84 |    97 |
```

### Interpreting scores

- **95-100**: Clean, sounds human
- **85-94**: Minor issues, mostly fine
- **70-84**: Noticeable AI patterns
- **Below 70**: Needs significant work

## Process

1. If `WRITING_STYLE_GUIDE_PATH` is set, load the writing style guide before processing
2. Load relevant rules from `references/`
3. Scan text for patterns and calculate before score
4. Rewrite problem sections
5. Add voice (see `voice-soul`)
6. **Self-check**: Scan your rewrite for the same AI patterns, calculate after score
7. Read aloud, it should sound like a person wrote it

## Output

Provide:
1. Score report (before → after with category breakdown)
2. The rewritten text
3. Brief summary of changes

## Environment Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| `WRITING_STYLE_GUIDE_PATH` | No | Path to shared writing style guide. Loaded before processing |

## Reference

Based on [Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing).