First, an open secret: we use language to communicate with AI. Students must critically evaluate and curate AI-generated text, discerning which of its sometimes dubious suggestions to accept, adapt, or reject — all through the written word. Not surprisingly, “English majors make the best prompt engineers,” says Google’s senior director of applied AI engineering.

The rise of generative AI has made human expertise in critical reading, writing, and editing newly valuable and consequential. College students who flourish understand this and recognize that traditional literacies form the foundation of AI literacy; those who don't risk falling behind. What can be done to close this looming AI divide?

Marit MacArthur discusses PAIRR (Peer and AI Review + Reflection), an award-winning, human-centered curricular model for teaching college-level writing in the age of AI. Developed at the UC Davis Writing Center, where MacArthur teaches and serves as coordinator of AI and emerging technology, PAIRR is designed to build critical AI literacy while simultaneously improving equity in access to writing support for students. PAIRR is being implemented and evaluated at public colleges and universities across California.

After her talk, MacArthur engages in conversation with Jenae Cohn, executive director of UC Berkeley's Center for Teaching and Learning, and select undergraduates who reflect on their experiences with AI and writing.