If you’ve been on social media lately, you’ve doubtless seen fictional stories and essays generated by “ChatGPT,” an artificial intelligence program that can generate remarkably solid pieces of prose, instantly, and in any imaginable style.

While some find this thrilling, others—mostly writers and teachers—are filled with existential dread. “My life—and the lives of thousands of other teachers and professors, tutors and administrators—is about to drastically change,” wrote teacher Daniel Herman, who predicted “the end of high-school English” in the Atlantic.