Hey, Siri - Can you do my homework?

How will AI writing tools impact education? When is writing original? How should teachers incorporate–or avoid–what seems to be an inevitable push towards faster, better, and more nuanced writing tools like AI language generators? Teachers are constantly balancing the world we live in against the world our students will inhabit. We’re often quick to lean into fancy new technologies in service of preparation and equity, but is there a point at which they’ll become too much of a crutch for students that allows them to avoid practicing and developing core literacy skills for themselves? After seeing some very successful and compelling AI writing tools becoming more and more available for students, Marcus and Jim try to reason this out for themselves and their English classrooms. Let us know what you think!

Thanks to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music. Thanks to Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden. Thanks to Courtney Milavec for graphic design.

Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro. 

 Email thoughts to thebrokencopier@substack.com.

Want to get a shout-out on the next episode? Tag us on Instagram or Twitter @thebrokencopier.

Thanks for listening!