Originally created as the artifact (and badge requirement) for the March Teaching Circle, this essay offers insight into one essay writer’s worst fear: Will AI create a better essay than I could? Rather than merely wonder and create doom scenarios, author Rhonda Baughman embarks on a journey exploring several basic prompts for several GenAI tools in preparation to create her essay for issue 23 of Girls, On Film. After a lengthy introduction, filled with several of humorous and divergent footnotes, a distinct trait of Baughman’s essay and review writing style for the last decade for numerous publications such as Girls, On Film as well as Medium Chill, Exploitation Nation; and Grindhouse Purgatory. An overview contains several surprises for both author and reader and the essay also includes an analysis of the essays generated, the GenAI created responses themselves, and Baughman’s originally published essay. Overall, the essay clearly demonstrated why GenAI is here to help and not replace and why human writing still matters.
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