At universities across Pakistan, a quiet revolution is reshaping the way students write. With the click of a button, generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, GrammarlyGO, and DeepSeek are transforming how academic writing is composed, raising profound questions about learning, literacy, and the future of education.
For many students, writing in English, the official medium of instruction in higher education, is a steep climb. Most enter university with limited training in academic English, grappling with first-language interference, outdated pedagogies, and a lack of personalized feedback. For them, AI is not merely a convenience. It is a lifeline.
“I used to struggle with writing even a paragraph,” said a second-year undergraduate student in Lahore. “Now I can produce an entire essay in an hour – and it actually sounds academic.”
We prompted DeepSeek to compare traditional student-authored essays with those assisted by AI. The results were striking.
AI-assisted writing was notably more formal and fluent. It employed elevated vocabulary, academic tone, and thematic coherence. Traditional writing, by contrast, was often informal, riddled with grammatical errors, and lacked clear structure. In one example, a student’s original essay opened with the phrase, “Old is Gold,” and wandered through personal reflections. The AI-enhanced version reframed the same argument with references to Khan Academy and post-pandemic learning trends.
For many students, writing in English, the official medium of instruction in higher education, is a steep climb.
In another case, a media studies student submitted two drafts of an assignment: one written independently, and another processed through an AI tool. The original included fragmented sentences and unsupported claims such as “media affects everyone very much.” The AI-assisted draft replaced this with a structured analysis of algorithmic influence on political behavior with citation of examples from global case studies.
Educators, however, are not entirely at ease. While many acknowledge the benefits including clearer expression, faster drafting, and reduced cognitive strain, they also warn of overreliance.
“AI helps polish the language, but it doesn’t teach students how to think,” said a professor of English at Riphah International University. “We risk creating ghostwriters who produce well-formed sentences without truly understanding them.”
Another educator recounted an incident during a viva voce where a student who had submitted a well-written AI-assisted paper was unable to explain basic concepts from it. “It was clear the paper didn’t reflect the student’s own learning,” she said.
The shift is particularly challenging in a system already stretched by resource limitations. Educators are often untrained in AI tools and lack time to offer individualized instructions. This has left many students turning to technology not just for assistance, but as a substitute for learning. Most of them are suffering from the technology singularity syndrome that AI is a better writer and advisor.
The pedagogical implications are far-reaching. Some educators advocate for integrating AI literacy into writing instructions to train students not only how to use these tools, but how to question, critique, and revise their outputs. Others recommend a mixed approach: balancing AI-assisted assignments with in-class, handwritten work to gauge genuine comprehension.
There is also a growing push for reimagining writing as a process. Instead of focusing solely on the final product, instructors must emphasize drafting, peer feedback, and critical reflection. These are aspects of writing that AI cannot easily replicate.
Some universities are beginning to adapt. A pilot course at Riphah International University in Islamabad requires BS English students to submit both AI-generated and human-written versions of their short stories followed by a reflective note comparing the two. The goal is to promote metacognitive awareness of what AI adds and what it does not.
Yet amid concerns, there is cautious optimism.
In a country where English writing has long been a barrier to academic success, AI is offering a kind of linguistic equity, a chance for students from underprivileged backgrounds to compete on more level ground. But equity is not the same as empowerment. It is about agency.
The way forward lies in a balanced, contextually sensitive approach that embraces AI’s potential without abdicating human agency.
For Pakistani universities, the question is no longer whether AI will shape academic writing, it already has. The imperative now is to shape its use in a way that empowers students rather than makes them dependent on algorithms. The critical question is whether educators are prepared to overhaul their pedagogical approaches.
Muhammad Shaban Rafi is a Professor at Riphah International University, Lahore, and a lead guest editor at Emerald and Springer publishing. Ayesha Saddiqa is an Assistant Professor at Govt. Graduate College for Women, Samanabad.