Dear Direct Response Letter Subscriber:

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Dan Chiasson, Chairman of the English Department at Wellesley College, has written what I consider to be the seminal essay on the issues, ethics, and controversies concerning AI and writing.

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In his article "Think for Yourself," published in the New York Review of Books (June 25, 2026), Dan says:

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"I believe that writing is the most astonishing of all human technologies. English professors teach the history of human innovations in this infinitely rich and adaptable technology.

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"My love for human language leads me to strongly oppose all attempts by machines to impersonate it. I oppose the ways our unique human voices are being exploited for the concentrated profits of a few companies and executives."

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He also notes that nowadays, "The idea that a college student or grown-up would sit with any book for an afternoon now strikes the culture at large as foolish if not morally condemnable."

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And observes: "AI ... can deliver in an instant what it once might have taken months to ascertain" and acknowledges the "hard, time-consuming work of writing lines and sentences" that seems to be rapidly falling out of fashion.

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Dan tells students who may be considering enrolling in his course:

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"In the English Department, we believe 'Writing is for Humans.' I invite you to see a clear moral value in writing done by humans, as I do.

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"If you share this belief, please join my class and hold yourself to your own high and admirable standard.

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"If you do not, please do not enroll."

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I urge every writer ... every reader ... every teacher ... every student ... indeed, everyone concerned with the fate of writing and the human race, to read Dan's long, deep, and thoughtful meditation on language, literature, and AI.​

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Sincerely,

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