In "Writes and Write-Nots," Paul Graham reflects on the impact of artificial intelligence on writing and the future of communication skills. He posits that the ease of using AI for writing tasks will create a divide between those who can write and those who cannot. While writing has always been a challenging skill that requires clear thinking, the emergence of AI as a writing tool may diminish the motivation and necessity for people to develop this ability. Graham warns that this could lead to a society where critical thinking is compromised, leading to a bifurcation of individuals into "writes" (those who can write and think critically) and "write-nots" (those who cannot). He argues that writing serves as a form of thinking, and that losing this skill could be detrimental to both personal development and societal discourse.

Key Points:

• Many people struggle with writing, which requires clear thinking.
• The prevalence of writing demands in prestigious jobs creates pressure that can lead to unethical practices like plagiarism.
• AI's capability to write could significantly diminish the necessity to learn writing skills.
• This will likely create a division in society between those who can and cannot write effectively.
• Writing correlates with critical thinking; the lack of writing ability could lead to a decrease in overall critical thinking skills.
• The analogy to physical strength in preindustrial versus modern times highlights how skills can become niche or obsolete due to technological advancements.
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