Manifesto for the Essay in the Age of AI
This ten-point manifesto offers a pragmatic framework for resurrecting the essay and can also serve as a pedagogical tool to generate classroom discussion and debate about the role of writing in the era of AI.
The sudden arrival of ChatGPT in November 2022 sparked widespread concern in university communities about the viability of the essay (and similar long form writing) as a form of academic production and assessment. On 18 June 2024, a group of academics from King’s College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science came together to explore the future of the essay in the age of AI. While acknowledging academic integrity challenges posed by increasingly sophisticated generative AI tools, the starting point for the discussion was a broad acceptance of the value of the essay and a commitment to exploring ways to make the essay work in an AI enabled age.
The 10-point manifesto below syntheses the joint conclusions of the participants in the workshop and subsequent asynchronous exchanges and refinement. We use "essay" in the broadest sense and assume “other long form writing” is implicit throughout. We also state that a defence of the essay includes and implies reflection on all assessment, the engagement with alternative, authentic and dialogic assessment in addition to use of essays and that where “writing as a way of thinking” is considered key, this does not in any way connote a belief that thinking must involve writing. The aim of the manifesto is to stimulate debate, foster reflection and provide educators and students alike with an analytical framework for reimagining the essay as a dynamic tool for learning and assessment in the AI era.