Why AI Must Not Do Our Writing for Us

"Since the advent of computer software capable of writing essays, I have noticed a sharp uptick in the technical quality of my students' written work. For a long time, responding to such work involved a good deal of correction - grammar, punctuation, spelling, word choices, and the like. Today, this is rarely necessary. Did a machine create the work? It has certainly been proofread by one."

"Am I thankful for this seemingly labor-saving turn of affairs? Not really, and the reason is this: Students seem increasingly inclined to regard writing assignments as requirements to be fulfilled, not as invitations to read, reflect, explore, and above all, to essay. The word comes from the French and means to try out, as exemplified by the greatest essayist of all time, Michel de Montaigne."

"Montaigne, who had prematurely lost his life's great conversation partner, La Boetie, understood that writing can be another form of conversation, of considering first one matter and then another from different points of view, attempting not to extract some all-purpose explanation, but to see the world and the human creatures who inhabit it in something approaching our full complexity and beauty."

"When Montaigne set words to paper, he was inviting his reader to join him on an adventure, not unlike the one philosopher Michael Oakeshott had in mind when he wrote of conversation as an unrehearsed intellectual adventure. Writing is not merely a productive art whose value lies entirely in what has been written. It is also an activity. Its worth derives in large part from engagement in the exploration."

Computer software that produces or proofreads essays has raised the technical quality of student writing, reducing the need for corrections in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and word choice. Many students increasingly treat writing assignments as requirements to be completed rather than opportunities to read, reflect, explore, and 'essay'—to try out ideas. Montaigne conceived writing as a form of conversation that considers matters from multiple perspectives to capture human complexity and beauty. Writing functions as both product and activity, and much of its value derives from the active engagement and intellectual exploration involved in composing words.

Read at Psychology Today