Writing is fundamental to how we express information, ideas and emotions. But what happens when students learn to write via machine? How is AI reshaping higher education? How might AI reshape what it means to be human?
Pitt Professor Annette Vee discusses how AI is reshaping writing pedagogy in higher education, moving beyond dystopian fears to focus on what faculty can actually do in the classroom. Drawing on her work in rhetoric and literacy, Vee examines where AI can support student learning—particularly in research and revision—and where it risks undermining intellectual development, especially when introduced too early in the writing process.
The conversation addresses practical concerns such as assignment design, AI-resistant pedagogy, student perceptions of fairness, and the importance of cultivating critical AI literacy, while also engaging larger questions about authorship, expertise, and the social purpose of writing. Ultimately, Vee suggests that AI forces educators to confront foundational issues: how students learn to think, how they develop voice, and whether writing remains central to human connection in an age when machines can generate fluent prose.
Dr. Annette Vee (University of Pittsburgh) is an expert in computer and programming literacies in the field of rhetoric and composition, and has published on the history of the Basic programming language; how blockchain technology affects rhetorics of trust; and how computational algorithms that write and read are affecting human writers and relationships. Her current work investigates how computers write for humans, especially through generative AI.
Robert Perkinson is an associate professor of American Studies and Director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series.
Production: Willow Hutchison
Editing: Amika Matteson
Recording and Sound Editing Assistance: Adeel Meer
Original Music: Will Watson