"Writing has been dying since it was born. Socrates worried that writing would kill memory. But writing didn't die. It transformed." is an adaptation based on interpretations of Socratic philosophy and the ideas of Walter Ong, a media theorist.
Writing is currently transforming.
Consider that as humans compose emails to other humans, artificial intelligence prompts them on what to say. Auto-completion, auto-correction, initial drafts and even final review are all points for AI direction. Where will this pattern lead?
"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."
— Albert Einstein
When considering the great libraries of history, several stand out: Alexandria, Ashurbanipal, Nalanda, Baghdad’s House of Wisdom, The British Library and The US Library of Congress. These institutions house knowledge, wisdom and allow us to stand on the shoulders of historic thinkers.
In the early 1970's, Paul Baran designed the internet to be a distributed network and not a centralized network so that it could survive a nuclear attack. Because of the further technological developments of cloud computing, algorithmic indexing, artificial intelligence and the distributed network we have collectively achieved: the largest library accessible by everyone, the Internet.
Recent studies show that a growing share of online content is AI-generated. Research from Amazon Web Services found that about 57% of web text has been created or translated by AI. Experts predict that by 2026, up to 90% of online content could be AI-generated. Platforms like Medium report that 40–47% of recent posts in areas like crypto and marketing are likely produced by AI. This trend raises concerns about the integrity of online content.
What are the consequences to people who forego the discipline of writing?
Research from NC State University shows that writing is necessary on an individual basis for everyone. Writing facilitates thinking. The cognitive pathway between neurons and the visual cortex and down the spinal cord to the muscles and tendons of the hand create a mysterious arena for developing the persona and character of a person. Writing is necessary tool for personal development:
Writers test and evaluate their visual representation of thought on a page or screen as it emerges, discovering new ideas and subsequently revising the text. Writing can change the writer, opening up new perspectives and beliefs or revealing what there still is to learn. … Asking an AI-based system to write an essay on a topic that the (human) writer has not yet explored significantly subverts the thinking and learning process.
It is possible for a writer to auto-generate a text, evaluate whether it reflects the writer’s thoughts or intentions, and then revise the text as needed. But this process doesn’t work for many genres such as explanations of scientific processes or historical accounts because the writer is relying on the machine to provide information they don’t yet know.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT, agrees with the power of writing to develop new ideas and to give the whole person rest.
