Dave Eggers warns OpenAI team that ChatGPT is stifling a generation’s voice.

Last year, Sam Altman brought in author Dave Eggers to speak to about 200 OpenAI employees. Eggers is known for his extensive body of work, including novels, screenplays, and journalism, as well as founding McSweeney’s and various initiatives that promote writing and the arts. One might expect him to share insights on productivity or success across different domains. However, he took a different approach, reportedly delivering a pointed critique of the company. According to reports, Eggers expressed to the staff:

> “The effect of ChatGPT on educators’ lives is catastrophic. Whether you intended to do it or not, you’ve made every teacher’s life infinitely more difficult than it was two years ago. So, just let that settle in… If students are using it to compose, which is the biggest tragedy of all, they’ll never learn to write. And their voice is stolen from them. They’ll never have the ability to say their truth and tell their own story. And that’s silencing an entire generation or two.”

To be fair, Altman likely anticipated this kind of feedback. Eggers’ acclaimed novel The Circle serves as a sharp critique of the tech industry, and he has referred to AI-generated writing as “pastiche nonsense.”