In an academic setting set on using artificial intelligence (AI), the Multilingual Writing Center does not deny its power. The Writing Center works with students to develop the ideas and direction of students’ writing but does not work to police the use of AI by students.
At Dickinson, where the AI policy is dependent on professor preference, writing tutors are lenient with AI usage. Dickinson’s academic misconduct policy states, “The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence … in the learning environment may impede students’ opportunities to explore a topic and engage in critical inquiry. Unless expressly permitted by your professor … it is unacceptable for students to use generative AI tools on assignments or exams. Without this explicit permission, use of these tools constitutes a violation of Dickinson’s academic misconduct policy.”
John Katunich, the Director of the Eberly Multilingual Writing Center and program, agrees that the use of AI hinders a student’s ability to think critically and develop said skills. Not only does Dr. Katunich believe this, but a study published in the Journal Societies suggests the same. “[The study] first evaluated the extent to which each of them made use of AI tools, then tested their critical thinking skills. [The study] found that those who used AI tools a lot showed worse critical thinking abilities than those who didn’t use them often or at all,” according to a Forbes article written about the study.
While AI can be harmful to the critical thinking skills of individuals, it is not the place of students to control other students’ use of artificial intelligence. Lucy Mclnerney, Assistant Director of the Writing Center and Writing Program, and Konoka Uematsu ’26, a writing tutor, suggested in interviews that student tutors are not there to regulate AI usage by other students. “…The role of the writing center is not to police students on the way that we use [AI]. But we’re really just here as like a resource for students to get help on their writing,” said Uematsu. “The first thing I want to know is if the use of AI is permitted in that way for that class. I would ask them about like the policies that their professor has or maybe look at the syllabus together.”
The Writing Center works with students to develop their writing beyond grammar and convention. If the ideas of a passage were developed by generative AI, then the tutors in the writing center work with students to develop the writing beyond the use of AI.
At Dickinson, faculty and advisors work to prepare students for their future by means of an interdisciplinary education. “Dickinson College provides a useful, innovative and interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences to prepare students to lead rich and fulfilling lives of engaged global citizenship,” according to the College’s mission statement. Views differ as to whether the use of AI prepares students to lead rich and fulfilling lives or prevents them from learning how to think critically.
