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Why We Must Fight the Demise of the Essay

By Filings on Fri, 08/01/25
Society & Culture
Artificial Intelligence
Technology
Writing
Higher Education

“I was reminded of theologian Jonathan Tran’s reflections on why college matters: it is a sacred time, set apart for learning, a time suspended from ‘real life’ in a meaningful way. Or, at least, it should be. When done well, it forms hearts, minds, and souls for a lifetime of service and meaningful work. This is what AI now threatens.” - Providence

Discussion

Profile picture for user Bert Perry
Bert Perry

NewWell said

Fri, 08/01/25

One interesting fact is that sales of the old "blue books" are up a LOT at many universities where professors and other instructors are realizing that more and more students are relying on AI applications like "ChatGPT" to do their work. Were I a college instructor at any level, I'd be doing the same.

And really, the article is quite right that a demise of essay writing--or at least the demise of the same without AI assisting--has some really bad implications for our future. Absent something of a rebellion against AI, or at least a constraint of what we're going to use it for, we're facing upcoming generations of people incapable of forming complex thoughts.

Or maybe we're about there already. To draw a picture, my daughter ended a relationship recently with a seemingly good guy--college graduate, former college baseball player, Christian--in part because he used AI to generate a response to her texts. We might infer that even for some very qualified young people, they are finding it hard to put a couple of sentences onto paper, or even a cell phone.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Related . . .

Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Friendship, Mark Zuckerberg, Loneliness
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  • Hesitant & Hopeful: Barna Research on How Different Generations View Artificial Intelligence
  • Getting Emotional and Using AI in Study
  • How does AI affect how we learn? A cognitive psychologist explains why you learn when the work is hard
  • Senate Hosts Meeting on AI without Ethicists

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