By Noor-UlAyn Mirza
The use of AI technology has set the tone for a downward spiral within the competency, progressiveness, and overall individuality within humanity. These tools deliberately push bigoted agendas through their exclusive exertion of standard written English and place an emphasis on syntactic accuracy rather than semantics and one’s artistic expression of voice. Consequently, this hyper-reliance and dependency strip individuals from their humanity as it discourages them from interrogating the beliefs and opinions of themselves and others. This ultimately leads to detrimental effects within the growing and expanding world of education and competency.
Marginalization is perpetuated further through the use of AI, as power dynamics are established and solidified through its endorsement of the status quo. The disproportionate negative corrections elicited by AI tools reinforces ideals such as inferiority in regards to the POC, as they are deliberately halted from reaching levels of competency that are “suitable” for society by virtue of deeming standard written English as the archetype of competence. AI technology has disrupted the learning process and overall growth of students, as this easy shortcut breeds inaccuracy and unreliability, and entertains the Western ideal of intelligence.
Grammarly’s reinforcement of discriminatory notions and perpetuation of elitist and Western ideals is pushed through its blatant disregard towards the varying dialects of English. Standard written English, in its nature, upholds class structures as it can only be acquired and perfected through exposure to higher levels of education. By virtue of systemic racism, white individuals disproportionately obtain greater access to these institutions, thus cementing standard written English as the status quo.
With the state of affairs concerning AI grammar correction tools comes a blatant rejection towards the ethnic dialects of English, which contain historical significance. Already we see dialects that stray away from academia being placed parallel with notions of incompetency and illiteracy. Black individuals that have curated a sector of English, known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE), have had their capacity to critically think be questioned and discredited as a result.
The existence of differing dialects allows for one to “describe and thus control their circumstances…” as a means to “…not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate…” (Baldwin 1). Without these variations of the English language, the conceptualization and expression of dark periods, associated with black history, becomes saturated in a one-sided perspective, usually depicting a misinformed account that works in alliance with a hegemonic agenda. Ergo, the utilization and casual implementation of AI grammar tools strips the historical context associated with cultural dialects of English, and fixes the use of SWE as a race-driven concept.
The art of writing is notoriously used as an agent that inspires and propels individual thinking. Students that utilize AI grammar tools as an anchor to aid them in completing assignments ultimately give credence to a dependency on technology, thus removing the art from their creation and stridently dismissing the bona fide process of writing.
Furthermore, the blatant rejection of artistic expressions of narration sow the seeds for a lack of semantic meaning within text. Credible and quality writing are then watered down and constituted solely with syntactic accuracy. This calculated corruption of one’s own voice foreshadows a loss of personally curated opinions and beliefs, which is an issue that stems beyond simply relying on AI tools for assignment completion.
Without interrogating one’s own thoughts and ideologies and using semantics to relay them, we are allowing humanity to embark on a future that is reliant on regurgitation and shallow efforts of communication. The effects this generates causes individuals to overlook “…the way people are actually using the language…” and instead places the focal point on “…the rigid set of regulations associated with grammar” (Wallace 10). We are actively living through a time in which the fraying of artistic accounts are becoming more saturated within not only the academic sphere, but society as a whole.
The advancement of AI grammar tools quickly falls into territories that cause a decay to human capacity, and make us vulnerable to hyper-dependence, as well as essentially dumbing our species down. This shift in cultural practice has curated a detriment to the natural exercise of the human experience and instead has become overshadowed by a lazy application of thought. Shortcuts to critical thinking rot one’s capacity to interrogate the conditions of not only the world around them, but their own internal experience as well. Consequences come to fruition through one’s inability to construct concrete change within a community or a substantial impact on an individual scale. The over-reliance upon these tools achieves the very opposite result from the reason they were created. Instead of a revolutionary advancement of our species, we are witnessing a regression beyond repair.
The standardization of English pushed by AI grammar tools diminishes the beauty tied to personal expression. Individuals utilize their voice to relay experiences and their identity, which is subjective to them. To strip this human process is to deny the complexities of individuals as a whole. The suggestions that AI tools offer often propose changes that completely drift from students’ voices. Evan Selinger explains this phenomena by stating, “We give others more algorithms and less of ourselves…automation can stop us from thinking…” (Selinger 1). As we drift into an increasingly illiterate and technologically dependent society, we set a new tone for communication and the advancement of our species.
Even the notion of writing as a process is stripped by apps like Grammarly. It is human to make mistakes; even the most notorious and accomplished writers in this generation and generations past could not run from this fate, which is intrinsic to the writing experience. When we create text that is free of error from the get-go, we eliminate the opportunity to not only develop as writers, but to develop as people. As George Orwell states, “… prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse” (Orwell 2). This predetermined ideal of writing is what alienates individuals from themselves, as writing is no longer being viewed as a vehicle for thinking, but rather a task for completion.
AI technology has wreaked havoc with personal and societal progression by shadowing one’s academic capacity and identity. Writing as a human process extends beyond the simple organization and construction of content. It is a form of self-expression and an opportunity for perspective exploration. By taking these virtues away, we are left with dull and lifeless writing that leaves no impact and creates a limiting viewpoint for the reader.
This ultimately diminishes the significance of a piece of writing and actively overlooks the priceless and valuable expressions that are relayed by one of the many human beings on this planet that have weighty experiences. By focusing on the individual and their desire to complete an assigned task, we turn our heads away from the act of utilizing text as a means of cultivating community and connection. Art and personal style within narration is one that cannot be replicated by AI technology, as the cherished notes of writing are developed within the process, not the completion.