Thanks for another thought-provoking weekly edition. The piece on AI raises another interesting question: what processes do we have in place to check that the AI-generated advice is *correct*?
As a case in point, you write that Grammarly "told me that ‘real-time’ is hyphenated". Well, that's correct when the term is used as an adjective (e.g. "this is a real-time emergency" – where "real-time" modifies the noun "emergency"). However, you weren't using it that way; your first instinct was correct, and Grammarly gave you the bum steer. In your sentence, "time" is simply an ordinary noun modified by the adjective "real". Try substituting a similarly constructed noun phrase – e.g. "clever unison" or "actual fact" – and you'll see that hyphenating it is clearly wrong. Or do a quick check with your favourite online dictionary: Collins, Merriam Webster and Cambridge all differentiate between the noun phrase and the hyphenated adjective.
I've worked as a writer and editor for a major UK company creating online content for international brands. The company recommends Grammarly to its writers, but I stopped using the tool because it was wrong far too often.
Which brings me back to your piece. AI is without doubt a great asset for businesses, but it's not foolproof, despite what a HAL 9000 might proudly boast. ;-)
Thanks for another thought-provoking weekly edition. The piece on AI raises another interesting question: what processes do we have in place to check that the AI-generated advice is *correct*?
As a case in point, you write that Grammarly "told me that ‘real-time’ is hyphenated". Well, that's correct when the term is used as an adjective (e.g. "this is a real-time emergency" – where "real-time" modifies the noun "emergency"). However, you weren't using it that way; your first instinct was correct, and Grammarly gave you the bum steer. In your sentence, "time" is simply an ordinary noun modified by the adjective "real". Try substituting a similarly constructed noun phrase – e.g. "clever unison" or "actual fact" – and you'll see that hyphenating it is clearly wrong. Or do a quick check with your favourite online dictionary: Collins, Merriam Webster and Cambridge all differentiate between the noun phrase and the hyphenated adjective.
I've worked as a writer and editor for a major UK company creating online content for international brands. The company recommends Grammarly to its writers, but I stopped using the tool because it was wrong far too often.
Which brings me back to your piece. AI is without doubt a great asset for businesses, but it's not foolproof, despite what a HAL 9000 might proudly boast. ;-)