A Posthumanist Inquiry into AI-assisted Academic Writing Practices

Abstract

This article explores the shifting nature of authorship, learning and agency in academic writing through the framework of synthetic practical posthumanism. Documenting a case study from an English language classroom, it examines how students engage with artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT as co-participants in writing tasks, revealing a reconfigured form of hybrid cognition. While human cognition has always been mediated by tools, the scale and agency of AI introduce qualitatively new dynamics, where machines no longer function as passive instruments but as active collaborators in meaning-making. The study situates this phenomenon within a ‘posthuman pedagogy of control’, emphasizing educational processes mediated by non-human actors where AI serves as a semiotic and cognitive scaffold. Findings indicate the need for pedagogical frameworks that recognize distributed intelligence, embed AI literacy, and address ethical use without retreating to technophobic restrictions. By invoking hybrid posthumanism and the ‘posthumanism of production’, the article advocates rethinking education as a collaborative, mediated practice, demanding systemic changes in curriculum, assessment, and teacher training in an increasingly AI-integrated domain.