I listened to an older episode of the Search Engine podcast while driving today. It’s about kids using AI to do their homework, but specifically using generative AI to write essays for them. I think there is a lot interesting in here, but PJ talks to John Warner who wrote a book called More Than Words: How to Think about Writing in the Age of AI and he mentions an assignment he had to do as a kid to show how you’re always writing for an audience.

He had to write instructions for how to make a PB&J, later he had to make a PB&J without straying from his instructions at all. He said he didn’t get specific enough about needing to use a knife to get the peanut butter out of the jar and use it to spread it on the bread, so he was couldn’t finish making it.

I think I would’ve benefited from that a lot as a kid. Writing in school was always formulaic. They talk about the five paragraph essay too… Shiverssss!

Anyway, I’ve added John Warner’s book to my want to read list!