Stylometric Analysis of AI Chatbot-Generated Emails: Are Students Losing Their Linguistic Fingerprint?

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, particularly through AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Bing, has revolutionized second language teaching and learning. These chatbots, which utilize advanced natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, hold great potential. They can operate complex cognitive tasks, provide  immediate feedback, enhance motivation and self-confidence, reduce anxiety and improve language skills. Despite these advantages, concerns about academic integrity, loss of unique voice, and lack of emotional depth have emerged. This research aims at conducting a stylometric analysis on 25 AI chatbot-generated emails produced by undergraduate English language learners at Sultan Qaboos University. By examining stylistic features like tone, lexical density, lexical diversity, choice of words, repetition, formality level and emotional depth, the study will provide insights into the strengths and limitations of AI chatbots in enhancing email writing skills while preserving the unique voice of student writing. Findings reveal that AI-generated emails are characterized by a repetitive structure, a high level of formality and politeness, a high lexical diversity and a lack of emotional depth and personal anecdotes. The outcomes of this research will shed light on the awareness and skills students need to acquire to optimize the use of AI chatbots without losing their linguistic fingerprint.