The mr-2 Anti-Pattern: Another AI Tell

If you've been reviewing AI-generated React code lately, you've probably noticed something off about component usage. Like the em-dash tell in writing, there's a spacing pattern that immediately screams “AI-generated.”

The Pattern

Here's what AI typically generates when using a component from @/components/ui:

// AI-generated code
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'

<Button>
  <span className="mr-2">Save File</span>
  <Star className="w-4 h-4" />
</Button>

Versus what a human would write:

// Human-written code
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'

<Button>
  <span>Save File</span>
  <Star className="w-4 h-4" />
</Button>

The AI can't see that the Button component already handles spacing internally, so it defensively adds margins everywhere.

These small details matter. They're the difference between stop versus something that feels intentional.