“Just a tool”? Troubling language and power in generative AI writing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to share findings from empirically driven conceptual research into the implications for English teachers of understanding generative AI as a “tool” for writing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports early findings from an Australian National Survey of English teachers and interrogates the notion of the AI writer as “tool” through intersectional feminist discursive-material analysis of the metaphorical entailments of the term.

Findings

Through this work, the authors have developed the concept of “coloniser tool-thinking” and juxtaposed it with First Nations and feminist understandings of “tools” and “objects” to demonstrate risks to the pursuit of social and planetary justice through understanding generative AI as a tool for English teachers and students.

Originality/value

Bringing together white and First Nations English researchers in dialogue, the paper contributes a unique perspective to challenge widespread and common-sense use of “tool” for generative AI services.

Citation

McKnight, L. and Shipp, C. (2024), "“Just a tool”? Troubling language and power in generative AI writing", English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-08-2023-0092