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Anna Leahy, Chapman University, United StatesAbstract
In Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? androids are given a psychological test to confirm they are not human before killing them. The story’s end suggests that humans will treat a seemingly harmless android as authentically as a human even when humans are aware the android is not human. Students use tools like ChatGPT, which function as autocomplete on steroids, to produce text using probabilistic relationships among words, and instructors can’t always tell the difference between average student writing and Gen AI text. In creative writing classes, instructors might use thinking for oneself as a central learning priority and re-focus on the intertwined roles of the self, awareness, and skills. Applying Carol Dweck’s research, creative writing can be an environment where students understand their abilities are not fixed and failure is part of developing their unique combination of abilities. Angela Duckworth’s concept of situational modification and designing environments in which students can follow through is useful too. This paper examines factors that shape pedagogical approaches and offers example class activities designed to serve learning priorities and avoid use of GenAI that inhibits student decision-making, thinking, and autonomy.
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Conference: IICAH2026Stream: Arts - Teaching and Learning the Arts
This paper is part of the IICAH2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Leahy A. (2026) Do Algorithms Dream of Electric Muses? Teaching Creative Writing in the Age of Generative AI ISSN: 2432-4604 – The IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities – Hawaii 2026 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 331-339) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4604.2026.28
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4604.2026.28
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