Author Dave Eggers told OpenAI employees that ChatGPT has had a catastrophic effect on educators and is silencing students by hindering their ability to learn to write.

Author Dave Eggers delivered a critical speech to approximately 200 OpenAI staff members after being invited by CEO Sam Altman to speak at the company's offices. Instead of offering professional advice, Eggers used the platform to condemn the impact of ChatGPT on the education sector. He argued that the tool has made the lives of teachers significantly more difficult and poses a threat to the development of students' writing skills.

Criticism of AI in Education

Eggers stated that the effect of ChatGPT on educators is catastrophic, asserting that teachers' lives have become infinitely more difficult over the past two years. He expressed concern that students using the technology to compose work will fail to learn how to write, effectively stealing their voices and preventing them from telling their own stories. Eggers characterized this as the silencing of an entire generation or two.

Context of the Invitation

Sam Altman’s invitation to Eggers followed the author's established history of criticizing the tech industry, most notably in his best-selling novel, The Circle. Eggers has previously described AI-generated writing as "pastiche nonsense." Despite this, Altman invited the author to address the staff, a group that includes a writer of numerous novels, screenplays, and journalism, as well as a founder of various arts-focused nonprofits.