Is AI Really 'Writing?' From a Priestess to Philosophers, Ancient Authors Would Have Said 'No'

Is AI really writing? Ancient philosophers would have said 'no'

What should we call the words this ultramodern technology produces? For clues, a professor looks to some of the world’s earliest authors

Is AI really 'writing?' From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said 'no'

I teach writing and rhetoric, but my college students and I often overlook a surprisingly complicated question: What is writing?

Is AI really ‘writing’? From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said ‘no’

An ancient disk shows the priestess Enheduanna, third figure from the right, during a ritual. Mefman00/Wikimedia Commons, CC BYI teach writing and rhetoric, but my college students and I often overlook a surprisingly complicated question: What is writing? And can artificial intelligence really do it? Many people think of “writing” as putting words on a page. However, even from very early on, writers have seen their craft as something more. From …