A Letter to the Student Using AI

You must be exhausted.

Art by Nadya Solntseva

Dear One,

So, you used AI to write your essay. You don’t see the problem with it, you tell me. What you don’t say, at least not with words, is that you’re exhausted. I understand – I’m exhausted, too.

You and I – we weren’t made to live like this. Everything is happening so fast. Ideas, news, trends, social causes – they’re in your hand the moment they occur. That’s a lot of weight to hold. And they demand an instant response – there’s no time to sit and mull things over. There’s no time to think.

You tell me you’re over it. You don’t want to waste what little time you have writing a stupid essay.

You might not fully see it yet, but you and I live in a world that values production and perfection over the human person. From an early age you were asked what career you wanted. You feel acutely that your grades are dictating your future – one wrong move and all these doors will slam shut. There’s no time to take the risks necessary to learn. And perhaps there is no point in learning if AI can do it all for you, anyway.

You’ve learned that life is a means to an end – and to what end?

You’ve learned that you are what you produce – so who are you if what you produce is not “good enough?”

For this, I am deeply sorry. I wish I could suspend the pressure you feel for long enough to let you breathe, to explore, to make mistakes without fear. Learning will always involve mistake-making and frustration. But there is dignity in hard work, and a sense of satisfaction. There might even be joy. Who knows?

Someone I admire deeply once said, “What you do matters, but not much. Who you are matters tremendously.”

So, I ask again: who are you?

I know, sensitive question.

Let me tell you what I see: You are imperfect and limited. You are learning. You are good. You are loved.

You will discover who you are by learning what you can do. And knowing you now, I can’t wait to meet that person.

So, I place the essay back in your hands.

Don’t let the world lie to you; don’t let it cheat you of the possibility for joy. Don’t let it keep you from becoming the person you were made to be.

With great hope for who you are becoming,

Your English Teacher