EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO AI TEXT ON HUMAN WRITING STYLE: IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE CHANGE AND ENGLISH PEDAGOGY IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in writings has really changed the way that individuals produce, edit or even conceptualize the English text. The study in hand, investigates the use of AI-generated English texts and its effect on the writing styles of Pakistani university students. It also explores whether this stylistic shift might be an early sign of language change. The study uses mixed method approach for data collection. Combining text analysis, surveys and a few semi-structured interviews. Data was collected from 60 undergraduate students studying in the department of English Linguistics at Kohat University of Science and Technology.

The results shows that the participants who are more exposed to AI-generated writing tend to write in a more syntactically balanced and dense way, especially in terms of sentence structure and vocabulary. Furthermore, many students are getting used to “AI-type phrasing” and a more depersonalized tone in their academic writing. The results show that AI tools not only change the students’ writing styles but also tilt or converge it towards more algorithm-like pattern. The study also highlights the pedagogical implications that how English language teachers in Pakistan need to help students in critically understanding AI-generated content. Developing such awareness helps users to preserve the real voice and local identity in writing.