The worries of AI

Artificial intelligence has become an instant buzzword, talked about in every aspect of our lives, especially with writing. Generative AI is offering to draft everything for us, from social media posts to work emails to outlines. Some schools and teachers are going back to handwritten assignments to ensure students are not using AI for their work. What does that mean for the college essay?

Understandably, you should never use AI for your essay. It is meant to be your personal statement, not that of the artificial mind in the ether. However, when used appropriately as part of your process, AI can be a natural way to brainstorm topics or check grammar. For example, ask ChatGPT for some questions to ponder when thinking about your essay — it’s likely pulling from the countless resources already online. Or, use grammar tools in Google or on sites like HemingwayApp to highlight sentences that need work or have punctuation errors.

The trick is that these sites are only a start — you must retain the roles of writer and editor. AI, after all, can be wrong. Or it might offer suggestions you disagree with. (Just ask the students who find the essays they genuinely wrote erroneously come up as AI-written in online checkers.)

Don’t let the fear of AI compel you to handwrite your essay. Employ the tools that any college or future employer would expect you to use as a productive, diligent writer. Because if you have a spelling error in your personal statement, every admissions officer will wonder what happened to your spell check.

The heavy lifting is still yours. Be as honest in the process as you should be in your essay. But can AI give you a head start in certain areas? Absolutely.