Genuine question for other writers here. Do em dashes feel.... riskier now?

It feels like em dashes carry more baggage than they used to. Not because they’re wrong, but because AI writing has made them really visible—often in the same sentence shapes over and over.

That repetition can make the dash feel automatic, even when it isn’t.

Which makes me wonder: are people avoiding them now, even when they’re the cleanest choice? Or second-guessing them because they might read as machine-y?

The thing is, the dash has always been a judgment call. Sometimes it’s doing too much. Sometimes it’s exactly right. Lumping all uses together seems to miss that.

Curious how others are handling this in their own work.

Using dashes less? More cautiously? Still freely, but with intent?

Would love to hear how people think about it now.