superfluous (adjective)
b: not needed : unnecessary
To be honest, I haven't been feeling "unnecessary" lately. On the other hand, though, I have never used one of the abundant Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) tools that are ever more attractive (or so it would seem) to so many in our society, including some of my own family and friends.
To be really clear about things, I have NEVER used A.I., and I don't intend to, EVER!
A recent article in The New York Times, though, makes me wonder just how common it is for people to refuse to make use of the "help" that A.I. can provide. The article I am referencing was titled, "A.I. Detection Helps Ensnare Professors, Too." The article appeared on the front page of the October 1, 2026 hardcopy edition of The Times that I picked up early on that Thursday morning. Online, the title is different, but you should be able to read the article in its entirety by clicking the link that I have provided.
Students at Dartmouth College have apparently "outed" Professor Santiago Schnell, after the student-run college newspaper found that some of Dr. Schnell's published writings appeared to have been written by A.I.. Dr. Schnell is a "mathematical biologist," and he has, I gather, apologized for his use of A.I.. Nonetheless, so The Times reports, Dartmouth College is now officially "investigating" Dr. Schnell.
I think the article I am highlighting is worth reading, in its entirety. The main message it sent to me is that many "academics" are now utilizing A.I. to do their writing for them, which, after all, is somewhat understandable, given that A.I. tools are based on computer programs that call upon almost the entirety of published human thought. Given that, why wouldn't someone utilize A.I. to do his or her writing, and by doing so have the benefit of all that accumulated wisdom?
Well, here's the reason that I am abjuring any use of A.I., ever. I do not want to become "superfluous." If we believe that pretty much any thought worth thinking has already been thought, and expressed, somewhere, why should I spend days, weeks, months, or years writing about some topic that A.I. already "knows about?"
Well, grandiose guy that I am, I do NOT believe that prior thoughts and ideas are necessarily going to turn out to be better than my own. Who said, "I think, therefore I am?" This phrase reads as follows in the Latin, for those aspiring to be a little bit grandiose themselves: "Cogito Ergo Sum." This observation is credited to René Descartes, and its powerful implications are best appreciated when one grapples with the idea that one's own existence depends upon his or her personal "thoughts." In other words, if I am not "thinking for myself," I might as well not even exist, at all. I would properly be considered "superfluous."
I have never, ever met another person whom I believe is "superfluous." We are, each one of us, amazing and wonderful creatures, with the potential to "change the world," and to accomplish something never ever thought about or even imagined before.
Let's not forget that! And if we don't want to forget that, relying on A.I. to substitute in for our own thinking and work is contraindicated.
Image Credit:
https://www.rd.com/article/how-words-get-added-to-the-dictionary/
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