Artificial intelligence is a threat to the art of writing
Artificial intelligence is a threat to the art of writing
Publish Date: 2026-06-23 16:45:00
Source Domain: www.postandcourier.com
Something disturbing happened recently when I started to write in my Microsoft Word app; I couldn’t begin until I formally declined to use artificial intelligence. So, using AI isn’t just an option I can choose; it’s the default. I have to actively reject it, or I can’t write at all. What does it mean?
It means that more people will assume that using AI to write is the normal thing to do and that they will be outliers if they take the old-fashioned approach. This normalizes having AI do one’s writing. More and more people will transition to using AI to write, and they won’t think anything is wrong.
But something is terribly wrong.
To understand why this is a threat to us, we have to understand what the act of writing is, what it means.
Most people believe that the goal of writing is to produce a product. After years of teaching college, I know this is how many students think of their papers. And since AI seems to be an efficient way of achieving that goal, why not use it to write an essay?
The problem with this perspective is that it shows a complete misunderstanding of the writing process.
When people write, they do want a finished document. But what many people do not grasp is that writing has a dramatic impact on the way we think; it teaches us about ourselves. We learn through the act of writing. When it comes to writing, it really is true that in many ways it is the journey, not the destination, that matters most.
When I begin to write, I often think I already understand a topic well and that all I have to do is put down what I know in a document. The fascinating thing I have discovered is that my mind often deceives me. I don’t actually understand the topic as well as I thought. I discover big gaps in my understanding that I didn’t know were there. Writing teaches me a lesson in humility, and we could all benefit from a lesson like this.
Once this happens, I have to stop writing and return to…
