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

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

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