More Than Words: How to Think about Writing in the Age of AI

A veteran writing teacher makes a powerful argument that writing is a form of thinking and feeling and shows why it can´t be replaced by AI In the age of artificial intelligence, drafting an essay is as simple as typing a prompt and pressing enter. What does this mean for the art of writing? According to longtime writing teacher John Warner: not very much. More Than Words argues that generative AI programs like ChatGPT not only can kill the student essay but should, since these assignments don´t challenge students to do the real work of writing. To Warner, writing is thinking-discovering your ideas while trying to capture them on a page-and feeling-grappling with what it fundamentally means to be human. The fact that we ask students to complete so many assignments that a machine could do is a sign that something has gone very wrong with writing instruction. More Than Words calls for us to use AI as an opportunity to reckon with how we work with words-and how all of us should rethink our relationship with writing.