Statement on AI

Statement on AI

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are now available everywhere, creating the impetus for students and instructors to view these technologies as reliable writing partners. The faculty of the St. Lawrence University English Department are not anti-technology; rather, we are proponents of learning to think critically, of engaging deeply with subjects, and of translating thoughts into clear, well-argued written and oral work. As conscientious citizens of literary studies, we value original, first-person, unmediated encounters with texts, stories, and voices. Original writing – both creative and analytical/critical – is our emphasis, and by “original” we mean writing that originates from a human being’s questions, ideas, perspectives, arguments, concerns, etc. It is our belief that fully engaging with literary studies fosters growth and ensures that students and instructors alike gain the most from their academic journeys. Mastering the communication skills (broth written and oral) that the English major and minor offer students prepares them to excel in an increasingly competitive workplace, as well as to be thoughtful human beings who are good citizens in the world. We assert as a department that the most valuable component of writing is the process it creates for students to communicate, articulate, theorize, compose, and revise. This process, and the struggle it entails, is where growth occurs and what develops those valuable written and oral communication skills. Learning goals in creative writing and literature courses emphasize the ability to evaluate and critically assess sources as well as to analyze and synthesize information and ideas from multiple sources to generate new insights. Depending on how they are used, generative AI tools can undermine all these goals and potentially eliminate the process and struggle so intrinsic to developing the clear written and oral communication skills that the major and minor seek to instill. The student’s own unencumbered efforts are crucial to this process, as multiple developmental stages are part of writing, stages that bestow upon a student their own cognitive and intellectual rewards when working through them rather than glossing over them by going right to the endpoint with AI. We as a department want to stress that using technology as an intermediary to encounter, arrange, and work with texts and ideas instead of engaging with original ideas runs the risk of losing vital skill development that employers require. Furthermore, there is also pleasure in the experience of making something for one’s self—and of having a relationship with that thing from the earliest gestational phases to the final product. For these reasons, and others including but not limited to the environmental effects of server farms, the misuse of printed and copyrighted material, the biases inherent to AI-produced materials, and the unrecognized human labor driving AI, we at the St. Lawrence University English Department strongly encourage students to develop their craft as writers themselves and avoid the use of artificial intelligence tools.