AI Writing Has Entered Its Post-Shame Era
This article explores the normalization of AI-generated content in professional writing and journalism. It features a discussion on whether the widespread use of AI tools is eroding human cognitive and creative capabilities.
Why it matters
As AI becomes ubiquitous in media, it raises critical questions about the future of human authorship and the potential for intellectual atrophy in society.
Illustration by The Atlantic September 11, 2026, 1 PM ET Share Save Listen − 1.0 x + Seek 0:00 42:52 Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
AI-infused writing is suddenly everywhere: not just in automated email responses or meeting summaries, but in books and even the pages of mainstream newspapers. When an editor at The Wall Street Journal recently defended an op-ed that was 100 percent written by AI, it felt like a possible turning point, at which people are no longer apologizing. So is AI-assisted writing in its post-shame era? What does that mean for the way we process, communicate, and think? Host Charlie Warzel talks to the journalists Elizabeth Spiers and Teddy Brown about being a writer when the robots are coming for you, and how technology does not have to be inevitable.
The following is a transcript of the episode:
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