When AI first arrived in our classrooms, it felt like the starting gun went off in a bizarre race.

Edu-tainers and influencers sprinted to produce the definitive response to AI. Workshops popped up overnight,  promising the ultimate “AI integration framework.” Others slammed on the brakes, calling for outright bans. AI detectors were marketed like smoke alarms for plagiarism (as if a teacher couldn’t spot AI-generated text in student work after reading a single paragraph).

It was chaos. Teachers were left with the educational equivalent of whiplash.

Then I read Stephen Marche’s The Atlantic article, “AI Is a Language Microwave.” It nailed what so many early conversations about AI missed: yes, AI offers an easy shortcut for students. But the work it produces is often hollow, cheap, and inauthentic—like microwave-ready meals.

Students (and adults) will turn to AI in the same moments we reach for the microwave:

• when we’re in a hurry,
• when the task doesn’t matter much, or
• when we’re just ticking a box.

But when the stakes are high, when someone needs to share a passion, tell their story, or present a thoughtful critique, AI won’t cut it. Those moments require personal words, chosen with care, like a chef assembling a dish from fresh ingredients.

And just like the Food Network helped spark a culture of fresh cooking and ingredient appreciation, educators can spark a culture of authentic writing. We can help students savor the process of crafting ideas, not just the convenience of the finished product.

Because in the end, no school policy or tech tool will truly “guarantee” student-authored work. The only long-term strategy is to help students want to write, to love the process of building a thought from scratch, to become connoisseurs of words.

So here’s the question for us: How do we get students to care enough about their own voice that they choose it over a machine’s? Here are a few process-focused ideas that I’ve seen over the years:

• Assign writing that connects to their lives and experiences. 
• Let students watch you struggle. Show them that great writing is built, not born.
• Use playful, low-stakes writing: quick writes, silly prompts, or “wrong answers only” exercises.
• Focus on ideas before polish: make brainstorming and discussion the main event before students even touch the keyboard.
• Read and discuss examples that make students say, “Wow.”

AI, like the calculator or other new game-changing technology, is here to stay. We can’t fight it. Instead, let’s help our students learn to use AI responsibly by having them focus on their own ideas, their own thinking, their own processes. Let’s work on developing within our students a love of authentic creation. AI is welcome to handle all the other, box ticking tasks.

Ed X