Is AI really ‘writing’? From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said ‘no’

What should we call the words that this ultramodern technology produces? For clues, a professor looks to some of the world’s earliest authors.

By: Ryan Leack, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 23, 2026

Words: 1,128

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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By Ryan Leack, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

I teach writing and rhetoric, but my college students and I often overlook a surprisingly complicated question: What is writing?

And can artificial intelligence really do it?

Many people think of “writing” as putting words on a page. However, even from very early on, writers have seen their craft as something more. From Enheduanna, the first named author on record, to Plato and …

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