Writing, Thinking, and AI: Where I Stand (Blog Post #3)

Welcome back literary enthusiasts! It's been a minuteee 🧠

For this weeks post I unfortunately have to talk about AI and whether or not I think it should be used to teach writing. I'll let you know right away that I absolutely despise artificial intelligence and anyone who uses it because I wish people would just use their brains for once in their life! I feel like people who constantly rely on AI for every single thought process in their day are hopeless and need to consider some serious therapy. And I especially mean the people who ask stupid questions like "what should I eat for breakfast" or "can I microwave a mac and cheese cup without water?" Those questions are literally so simple and people need to use common sense. On the other hand, maybe you ask ChatGPT how to word a sentence or you might ask it if you're ever going to find a best friend and love interest all in one person. Personally, I sometimes ask AI how I should word a sentence because let's be honest, I constantly have brain fog, but as for talking to an AI chatbot about personal relationships, I wouldn't recommend because of privacy concerns.

And if my sentences above weren't clear enough to you so much that you were thinking of using an AI chatbot to get a summary of what I was saying, I don't think that AI should replace student thinking or writing, but at the same time, I also don't think we can act like it's not there. 

That statement goes all the way back to my childhood, and probably a lot of other individuals childhoods too. I grew up watching a variety of shows and movies, some of which include SpongeBob SquarePants, Robots, WALL-E, and Star Wars. All of these contain some type of robot or droid that is either portrayed in a good or evil way, or maybe they're given some tasks to achieve from their master.

On the same topic of robots, I also got introduced to a video game called SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, when I was around 8 years old. In this game, you battle a

variety of robots (pictured below) as you explore iconic Bikini Bottom locations. So again, I was shown portrayals of robots and other AI forms early on in life..

More recently, a horror movie called M3GAN was released which shows a murderous AI doll. Because of these early portrayals of robots and droids, you could say that my generation is biased or maybe we've seen so many depictions that we just don't know what to think with all these new forms of artificial intelligence. 

But let's get back to the more important stuff! Annette Vee from the "AI and Student Agency" article questions whether or not we should use AI for writing. More specifically she states "we're not going to answer the question for you." I think that statement really goes to show how much of a debate AI can be, and it puts the responsibility on students to think and decide for themselves. She also states that "these tools don't tell students what to do about AI- instead, they equip students with information to help them make decisions." And that's what feels right to me. Writing is how we figure out what we think. It's an opportunity for us to use our voice if we're too afraid or shy to say something out loud. If AI does the thinking for us, then we lose something extremely important.

As for my own experiences, I know that I grow the most as a writer when I struggle. Honestly, I don't believe that a final draft of an essay would be good, if I didn't struggle along the way. Some of my best ideas have come from staring at a blank page or constantly rewriting the same paragraph a couple times. I mean, I just did that in some of my paragraphs above this. It can definitely be frustrating at times, but that's where the real thinking happens. That's also where real emotion comes into play, and that is not something that happens with using artificial intelligence. You're more so copying and pasting a prompt, and then getting a final draft of something, with a blank mind the entire time. It's sad, but true and students of all kinds will do this on a daily basis, even if your views as a teacher don't like it whatsoever. That's why I have to agree with Vee's focus on agency. Teachers should help students make smart choices about AI, not just ban it (as much as they may want to), or fully allow it without guidance. 

Another point I wanted to mention is that just because AI can produce your whole 15 page essay for you, that doesn't mean that it's magic. The NCTE position statement on GenAI in ELA classroom states that "GenAI platforms are literary technologies. They function in tandem with their users' literate abilities, meaning that users must engage in reading, speaking, and writing in order to use GenAI platforms." AI can only work with what you already know. If you're a strong thinker, it might help you explore new ideas. But if you don't understand something, it can't truly fix that. I also agree when the statements mention that we need to "maintain a human-centered approach to education, stressing the significance of human connections, creativity, and critical thinking skills that cannot be replaced by GenAI." Writing classes aren't just about producing essays. They're about conversations, feedback, and relationships. AI just can't replace that.

At the same time, I loved listening to the podcast about reclaiming teaching in an age of AI. It was extremely interesting to hear the perspective from a current teacher going through this struggle of whether or not she should ban AI or accept it, and I took some of her thoughts into account for my own future classroom. More specifically, this teacher went back to notebooks and handwriting because she wanted to be sure that she was reading her students' real thoughts. Honestly, I really connect to that statement because when I write by hand, it helps me slow down and think more deeply. If students never learn how to brainstorm or draft without AI, then they aren't really building their skills. If students can't do something without AI, then they don't actually have that skill.

Overall, I don't think that banning AI completely is the answer (even though I would love it to be), but I also don't think we should let it take over writing assignments. I think AI could be used for things like brainstorming or looking at examples, but not for writing full essays. The most important thing is that students stay in control of their ideas. Writing is thinking. If AI replaces that thinking, then we lose the whole point. Teachers should guide students in how to use it carefully and ethically, while still protecting student voice and real thinking. There aren't easy answers, but I know that whatever we decide should involve human voice and thought. 

Well, that's all for today! See ya next time! 🤖