When I told friends that my university department was launching a citywide short essay competition for secondary school students, many laughed, good-naturedly, of course. “An essay competition? In the age of generative AI?” asked one. “Won’t all the entries sound the same if everyone uses ChatGPT?” said another. “Isn’t the whole point of writing gone now that AI can do it better?” said a third. As a researcher in AI-assisted writing, I took these doubts seriously – and personally. They reflect a...