This post was not written using AI
Make using your brain cool again. Plus writing and reading updates.
“I asked ChatGPT” … “I asked Gemini” … “I asked Claude” …
Yeah? Well, I asked the fairies that live in the fungi-filled knot in the trunk of my neighbor’s oak tree. They’re begging you to pick up a book.
I’m so, so tired of AI. I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m tired of seeing ads for it. I’m tired of seeing friends and family give billion-dollar tech companies their data so they can post an AI-generated caricature image of their personality. I’m tired of reading heartfelt Valentine’s messages and birthday posts that are so clearly copied directly from ChatGPT. I’m tired of seeing AI book covers and character “art.”
I’m tired of spending hours and days working on engaging lectures and assignments, only for my students to seemingly not care all that much or immediately jump to AI to get their questions answered or assignments completed. AI isn’t the only thing to blame for that. Still, I’ve only been teaching at the college level for 5 years, and I’m already struggling to capture and maintain students’ attention, engagement, and interest in the material. I’m especially tired of seeing colleges and universities pour money and resources into “being at the forefront” of AI use in classrooms and research.
No, I don’t want to participate in workshops to learn how AI can make lectures and write discussion questions for me. I don’t want AI to create a syllabus or course schedule for me. At the risk of sounding hopelessly out of touch, I still beg the question: Isn’t research, reading, and creating engaging material the entire point of being a college professor?
I hear you; you don’t have to shout about how AI has made you a better communicator or made your emails sound more professional or put into nice (read: stolen) words how much your spouse means to you for a Happy Birthday post on Facebook. You know you don’t have to consult ChatGPT for everything, right? I promise that writing a few sentences isn’t all that hard or scary.
The current state of AI in our society is giving gimmicky “pivot to video” vibes in the worst way. I cannot wait for the bubble to burst.
Regardless of how I feel about personal, individual use of AI, my main concern is, well, my job as a writer and educator. Amongst some of my peers and contemporaries, there’s still hope and a steadfast dedication to human creativity and imagination. Refusing to use AI in our writing, research, and curriculum creation feels like an act of resistance in a late-stage capitalistic society. It also feels like an out-of-touch refusal to grow and adapt, especially in the face of seemingly everyone conforming. Worse is the revelation that a long-time educator uses AI for entire courses, including personal feedback and responses to students.
I’m all for utilizing tools and tech to make my jobs easier. But I want those tools to make my life easier, not just increase profits for a company’s C-suite. I’ve used AI before, namely in the Otter platform for recording and transcribing interviews. Having a tool that transcribes hour-long interviews in real time absolutely made my job as a journalist easier. Yes, I did listen back to the interview to ensure I was directly quoting my sources correctly, but Otter’s AI allowed me to focus on the conversation in the moment without getting off track while furiously writing or typing notes.
Amid a deluge of AI slop, what gives me hope are the professional and creative communities I’m a part of, and my Gen Z students. Online, writer groups and bookish communities swiftly and succinctly rebuke anyone who shares writing or art generated by AI. Those who use AI are not welcome in those spaces, which place the highest value on human creativity.
Amongst my students (the majority of whom are studying journalism or English), there’s a quiet revolt against excessive use of technology. There’s a chorus of groans and eyerolls every time there’s more news about the university getting more money for its AI programs. But there’s excitement and passion for print media and for embracing a more analog lifestyle — thrifting for used CDs, joining local zine-making groups, publishing the campus' print newspaper, and steadfastly supporting and writing for the local alt-weekly, which is now employee-owned and still completely free.
I can only hope to be as cool as them someday.
What I’m writing
My last story for Star Wars Insider is out now in issue 236. Titled “Darker Than Night,” the article explores the creation of Dark Horse’s Tales from the Nightlands mini-series. I interviewed writer Cavan Scott, along with artists Soo Lee, Robert Hack, and Vincenzo Riccardi, about bringing the haunting and visually impressive story to life. I also had the pleasure of talking to Iain McCaig, the concept artist for the series and its monster, the Nightlander. McCaig is famous in the Star Wars galaxy for character designs in The Phantom Menace (Darth Maul and Queen Amidala) and The High Republic (the Nameless).
You can pick up the penultimate issue of Star Wars Insider at your local comic shop, bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, and for free through your local library and Libby.
Nonfiction space history book: I will get back to this…soon. I was able to nearly finish what’s likely to be the book’s biggest chapter in January, but then classes started, and teaching at two different universities takes up almost all of my brain power.
[Redacted]: It’s going great. I’m nearing the end with one more “thing” to do before I’m done. Pencil in fall 2026 for an actual reveal of what I’ve been working on for over a year.
Lectures: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays are my days for lecture writing. Tuesday and Thursday evenings are for actually presenting the lectures and having discussions with my students. The first half of the semester is an introduction to media writing, specifically journalism and news writing, media ethics, and media law.
Random documents and my Notes app: Wouldn’t you like to know? Half-formed thoughts, vibes, tag lines, and themes I want to explore, and probably…hopefully some more [redacted] opportunities.
What I’m reading and watching
Can you believe I finally read Wuthering Heights for the first time in my 30s? It was transcendent. Dark and beautifully tragic. Take me to the moors to yearn and wuther.
My review of the book: Emily, you’re so insane for this.
My review of the new movie: Emerald, you’re so insane for this.
My review of me while reading Wuthering Heights and The Favorites by Layne Fargo at the same time: Chelsea, you’re so insane for this.
Current reads include The Butcher’s Masquerade (book 5 in Dungeon Crawler Carl), a reread of A Fate Forged in Fire so I can get to my ARC of A Queen Crowned in Flames, and Hamnet to scratch my classics prose itch that started after finishing Wuthering Heights. My immediate TBR includes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (the book and graphic novels), rereading When the Moon Hatched, and Jane Eyre.
I’ve also got two books on my plate that I’m reading for work — one is my best friend’s debut novel, and the other I can’t tell you about yet.
On our movie watchlist is the Scream franchise so we can go see Scream 7 this weekend. We rewatched the first movie and have been trying to watch a movie a night until Saturday. And after a bit of a slow start to 2026, our AMC A-list subscription is about to be put to very frequent use starting in March — The Bride!, Undertone, Hoppers, and Project Hail Mary all in the same month.
What are you reading, watching, and pondering about?
Wuther with me in the comments.
I have wondered sometimes if AI isn't some nefarious plan to erode critical thinking skills and make us depend on the machines.