Given the subtle human-like effects of large language models on linguistic patterns, this study examines shifts in language over time to detect the impact of AI-mediated communication (AI- MC) on social media. We compare a replicated dataset of 970,919 tweets from 2020 (pre-ChatGPT) with 20,000 tweets from the same period in 2024, all of which mention Donald Trump during election periods. Using a combination of Flesch-Kincaid readability and polarity scores, we analyze changes in text complexity and sentiment. Our findings reveal a significant increase in mean sentiment polarity (0.12 vs. 0.04) and a shift from predominantly neutral content (54.8% in 2020 to 39.8% in 2024) to more positive expressions (28.6% to 45.9%). These findings suggest not only an increasing presence of AI in social media communication but also its impact on language and emotional expression patterns.
View on arXiv@article{sussman2025_2504.19556,
title={ Detecting Effects of AI-Mediated Communication on Language Complexity and Sentiment },
author={ Kristen Sussman and Daniel Carter },
journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.19556},
year={ 2025 }
}