WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake Lecture Series | Writing with the Machine: AI as Interlocutor in Human Thought and Writing

On May 12, 2026, the College of Liberal Arts and WKU Library jointly held the second lecture of the “WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake” series. Focusing on the relationship between artificial intelligence and literary writing, the event brought together guests, faculty members, and students for an engaging academic discussion. 

The lecture was delivered by Dr. Jennifer Marquardt, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Department of English at Wenzhou-Kean University, with assistance from Zhao Luyi, an English major student. Titled “Writing with the Machine: AI as Interlocutor in Human Thought and Writing,” the talk drew on Dr. Marquardt’s own creative practice and ongoing novel project to explore AI and authorship, with particular attention to the role and limitations of AI in literary writing and its challenges to traditional understandings of authorship.

During the lecture, Dr. Marquardt explained that large language models rely primarily on pattern recognition and statistical relationships among words, rather than genuine understanding. She noted that AI can support writers in areas such as revision, structure, metaphor, and plot development, but it cannot replace the writer’s judgment, personal experience, or critical thinking. In this sense, AI is better understood as an editorial collaborator rather than an independent creative subject.

During the interactive session, faculty members and students exchanged views on AI-assisted writing, the boundaries of originality, human-machine collaboration, and subjectivity in literary creation. As the second lecture of the WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake series, the event further enriched public academic dialogue on campus and offered new perspectives on humanistic thinking in the age of technological change.