Someone once asked me whether I use artificial intelligence in my writing because I’m an English major. This question confused me a bit because in my mind, it felt contradictory. I wonder what the point of choosing such a major would be if I wasn’t willing to do the work and learn from my mistakes on my own. From what I’ve seen, people who hate writing or reading don’t really seem inclined to pursue English degrees. Those who do have at least some idea of what they’re signing up for.

So much of our time is spent just reading, and here’s the hard truth: There isn’t a shortcut for this. Well, yes, there is, but it’s a trade-off. It’s possible to use SparkNotes or look up synopses for books, but in English classes, the things that will come up in discussion are so specific or deeply grounded in the reading thematically or otherwise, that the material that will give you the best idea is: the book itself. There is the argument that using AI speeds up the process, or makes things easier. For the former part, I don’t agree.

My encounters with AI frankly feel more troublesome than just doing the work by oneself. I was once instructed to use a citation generator for a paper, which I had never done before. It was oddly overwhelming because after all that, I still felt like I had to go back and check that it was done correctly (which it wasn’t some of the time). So, I ended up taking more time and found it easier to simply do them manually. 

Of course, writing citations is fairly mind-numbing work. But when one types out a prompt and gets the generator to “do the work,” just to go back and edit everything to make it sound more human, that just seems like a lot more trouble being taken for a poorer result. While researching, I came across articles with tips on how to get AI to give you a more complex, “human” outcome.

This may sound snarky, but a complex human is already sitting at the computer. The work put into the generator could be directed toward a meaningful piece if at the end of the day, you’re simply using it to make it seem like you did it anyway.

The term “soulless” is the best one I’ve heard used to describe AI writing. When we write, and the more we do, our writing voice gets cultivated. This is all lost when AI takes over. I’ve struggled to peer review for people who used AI in their writing because I can’t find their voice in it. On the surface, the writing is technically sound, but it feels like an empty box. 

I can’t find an inconsistency or strong part because everything is flat and generic. I will give credit to AI that it can make assignments more thought-provoking because professors must adapt the curriculum in ways that ensure we do our own work. So our papers and reflections become harder to outsource. 

I admit, I’m a bit stubborn when it comes to using AI for writing (even as a grammatical tool). That may have to do with the fact that I was subject to English Grammar Recitation lessons as a homeschooled kid, and therefore fail to see why people in writing disciplines wouldn’t want to be well informed about the technical sides of their writing (although I don’t recommend the experience of having to memorize 36 capitalization rules). 

That stuff is very dull, but it’s extremely useful. In the past, I have been informed by instructors that our grammar doesn’t matter as long as they can tell what we’re saying. But aren’t we trying to hone our skills in all respects? Not to mention the fact that even thinking critically is now being outsourced if we can manage it, let alone whether we use a semicolon correctly. 

So then, there isn’t really much left of us in the written piece. Using AI feels like an active attempt to keep from engaging with the content of this degree at a close range. I would even go so far as to say it is an easy way to help create distance from uncomfortable issues in reading matter. If you don’t straight up engage with it, you don’t have to process and think about the contents of what you’re reading. AI can serve as a barrier between actually connecting with that material (especially if you’re not actually reading it). 

I say all of this not to argue that AI isn’t useful in any respect, but that using it in the realm of a degree that promises so much mental development is a quick way to sabotage that potentiality.

Zaynab is a senior in LAS.

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