rejected proposal for 2025 CCCC roundtable: Resisting the Hype by Making Space for AI in the Writing Classroom

Building on an assignment suggested by Mark C. Marino, I aim to embolden and empower students by asking them to identify AI’s limitations, recognize the labor involved (i.e., “training” on both AI input and output), and reflect on the value of their own approaches and methods for writing. Such goals contrast with benefits listed in the first MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper, benefits which appear to relieve students of responsible participation in the writing process and remove opportunities for centering their own voices, experiences, and abilities. Part of resisting AI hype necessarily involves reaffirming our humanity, and reading texts like Futureproof by Kevin Roose and Unmasking AI by Joy Buolamwini that contextualize and historicize AI development also keep our collective head out of the cloud. Of course, I'd be glad to share early results of students' responses to these assignments.