The inception of AI’s role in language education dates to the mid 1960’s when ELIZA was introduced, marking the possibility of using natural language to have a conversation with a machine (Faiz & Hazilan, 2024; Weizenbaum, 1966) this simple conversation with a machine evolved into bots that threaten college writing. In December 2022, Stephen Marche, an essayist and a cultural commentator, announced the death of college essays because of the birth of generative AI. Marche presented GenAI as a tool that cheating students can manipulate to avoid drafting their own essays without feeling guilty (Marche, 2022). Almost three years later, educators seem to share a different opinion; GenAI is seen as a tool for co creation that can be used in writing center sessions to overcome writers’ block, enhance critical thinking or brainstorm ideas. In the Tutor column of the Summer 2025 issue of the WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship,Timoteo Pereira Neves argues “that GenAI and the humanistic qualities of the writing center are not mutually exclusive. In fact, integrating GenAI into writing center sessions may enhance conversation and lead to deeper human connections.” Same ideas dominated the Middle East-North Africa Writing Centers Alliance (MENAWCA) 9th Biennial Conference that was held at NYU Abu Dhabi from 10-12 October 2025.
Co-creation with AI: Navigating New Horizons in Writing and Learning is not just a timely title for a conference that brought together multiple scholars from different parts of the MENA region but rather it is a reflection and confirmation that writing center tutors can “shape local practices and contribute to an understanding of what ethical, inclusive, and effective AI use might look like in writing centers” (Eleftheriou, 2025). Throughout the MENAWCA 9th Conference, many speakers pinpointed having initial concerns about GenAI and how these tools can affect the teaching of academic writing or the number of visitors signing up for sessions at the writing centers. However, like Neves (2025), almost all of them, after an initial phase of uncertainty, insist that writing centers and tutors should embrace the new technology to enhance the learning process by training students on how to use these tools effectively.
Neves (2025) cites multiple studies that value “blending technological applications and human interactions” (p.22). She refers to Conard-Salvo and Spartz (2012)’s research on text-to-speech tools as one of the earliest studies that examined embracing technology in writing center sessions. Other scholars have called for the importance of training students on using GenAI tools such as ChatGPT and Quillbot highlighting that such inadequate knowledge of these tools can stop students from using them in their writing (TanQvejakul et al.2024; Teng 2024). In a personal interview with Annette Vee, the international Keynote speaker at MENAWCA 2025 Conference, the same ideas were echoed. Vee mentioned that she was working on a guide about AI and writing.
Nerves (2025) and the MENAWCA 9th biennial conference are brought together here because they both provide a similar perspective for using chatbots and GenAI in writing centers and writing classes. Though seemingly both are worlds apart and were created in different contexts, yet the ideas presented are very similar. Rather than framing GenAI as a threat that should be eliminated both recommend an approach that embraces the new technology and finds new opportunities for supporting writers.
References
A.Vee, personal communication, October 11, 2025.
Conard-Salvo, T., & Spartz, J. M. (2012). Listening to revise: what a study about text-to- speech software taught us about students’ expectations for technology use in the writing center. The Writing Center Journal, 32(2), 40–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43442392
Eleftheriou, M. (2025, October 10). Rewriting the rules: Writing center tutors, ethics, and AI in student writing. MENAWCA 9th Biennial Conference, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. https://menawca.com/menawcas-9th-biennial-conference/
Marche, S. (2022, December 16). Will ChatGPT kill the student essay? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/
Neves, T. N. (2025). Tutors’ column: “Harnessing the Power of GenAI.” WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. Retrieved October 21, 2025, from https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/wln/v49n4/neves.pdf
Tantivejakul, N., Chantharasombat, J., & Kongpolphrom, W. (2024). Voices of the Future: Exploring students’ views on the use of GenAI in academic and professional PR writing. LEARN Journal : Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 17(2), 511–537. https://doi.org/10.70730/pvtd830
Teng, M. F. “‘ChatGPT Is the Companion, Not Enemies’: EFL Learners’ PercepQons and
Experiences in Using ChatGPT for Feedback in Writing.” Computers and Education:
Artificial Intelligence, vol. 7, Dec. 2024, pp. 1–10.
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