Do We Need to Go Back to Handwriting?

tchristofer.com

I recently was talking to a friend who is back in college. What she shared with me reeks of another ongoing issue with AI. It's not just the creative community. It is in the schools too.

AI is a TOOL! ONLY a tool! My media feeds are packed full of ads for this or that creative writing AI program, or let AI blog for you. MY own computer constantly tries to take over the reins and direct my thoughts (I think I got that snuffed out FINALLY though). Some Agents, publishers, and Editors are using AI to screen potential HUMAN created stories. This is so they can quickly trash the ones that don't fit the current flavor of the month, while holding the authors to a higher standard of NO AI. Not that I would ever use AI for content.

It's gotten to a new level. Now college professors are accusing students of plagiarisation merely because they have copied and pasted. All in an attempt to filter true plagiarization. There has to be a better way. In the editing process, we use AI Tools (spellcheck, grammar, copy/paste). Citations and quotes should always be annotated, yet your own words should be yours to copy and paste as often as you like. What will be the next nail in the coffin of creative expression? First the Emdash, now copy/paste?

AI could have been the best thing since sliced bread, but humans have warped something good into a divisive, profiteering entity. Maybe we should go back to hand writing everything like Jane Austin did. Oh wait, we stopped teaching children to write in cursive long ago. Are you as mad as I am?