Students should aspire to be more than mere ‘prompt writers,’ but minds capable of thinking, reasoning, and perseverance. //

If the goal is simply to produce outcomes, one could argue that AI usage should not just be tolerated but encouraged. But education shouldn’t be about producing outcomes – whether it be a sparkling essay or a gripping short story – but shaping souls. The purpose of writing isn’t to instruct a prompt or even to produce a quality paper. The purpose is to become a strong thinker and someone who enriches the lives of everyone, no matter their profession.

Each and every step of the struggle it takes to write is essential. Yes, it can all be arduous and time-consuming. As a writer, I get how hard it is and how tempting it might be to take shortcuts. But doing so is cheating oneself out of growth and intellectual payoff. Outsourcing parts of the process to algorithms and machines is outsourcing the rewards of doing one’s own thinking. Organizing ideas, refining word choices, thinking about tone are all skills that many citizens in this nation lack, and it’s often apparent in our chaotic, senseless public discourse. These are not steps to be skipped over with a “tool,” but rather things people benefit from learning if they value reason. Strong writing is strong thinking.