Writing is Thinking

We're Handing Our Brains Over to Machines

AI is everywhere. We're using it to offload more and more tasks every day, and writing sits at the top of that list. It makes sense—humans are lazy and writing is hard. We've always looked for shortcuts and energy-saving hacks. That's how we invented everything from fire to the tractor to the smartphone.

We need to fight the urge to hand over all our writing to machines.

When you write, you're not just putting words on a page. You're wrestling with ideas, sharpening your thoughts, and making yourself smarter. Writing forces you to organize the chaos in your head. It's where you discover what you actually think about something, not just what you thought you thought.

AI can string together coherent sentences, sure. But it can't capture your unique voice, your creative leaps, or the way you connect ideas that no one else would. It can't be persuasive in the way that only you can be persuasive.

Last week, the journal Nature published an editorial called "Writing is thinking." No fancy data or complex studies—just a straightforward plea to researchers and scientists: don't let AI do all your writing. As they put it: "This is a call to continue recognizing the importance of human-generated scientific writing."

As AI handles more of our cognitive work, what happens to our brains? We used to be physically active all day doing manual labor. Then machines took over, our bodies got soft, and we had to invent gyms to stay in shape. Are we heading for the same fate mentally? Will we need "brain gyms" to keep our minds sharp? What would that even look like—cognitive CrossFit classes? Thinking bootcamps? Or is it just called “reading a book”?

AI is the first truly intelligent general-purpose tool we've ever created. It's not just automating physical tasks or simple calculations. It's taking over our core abilities — thinking, reasoning, and creating. We can let AI handle all the hard thinking, or we can use it as a tool while keeping our mental muscles strong. The choice seems obvious when you put it that way.

So keep writing. Write badly, write often, write about things that matter to you. Your future self—and your brain—will thank you for it.