Publication Date
Spring 2026
Course Name
Special Topics in Composition
Course Number
ENG 620
Subject
English
Abstract
This paper examines generative artificial intelligence as a distinct communicative development that reshapes rhetorical practice and composition pedagogy. Situating generative AI within a historical framework of communicative revolutions—including primary orality, literacy, and secondary (digital) orality—the paper argues that generative AI constitutes a new form of literacy rather than a mere extension of digital media. By producing near‑human language and creative output in direct response to user input, generative AI functions not only as a compositional tool but also as an artificial audience to which rhetoric must be tailored. The analysis explores how this shift challenges traditional assumptions about audience, persuasion, authorship, and emotional appeal, particularly in the composition classroom. Drawing on examples of text and image generation, the paper highlights how generative AI introduces new rhetorical constraints, including technological artifacts, inherited biases, and altered notions of agency. Ultimately, the study contends that understanding generative AI as a novel rhetorical audience enables writers and educators to develop more critical, ethical, and effective approaches to AI‑assisted composition. [Abstract generated by AI.]
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Scoglietti, Chrystina, "Generative AI as Artificial Audience" (2026). Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection. 13.
https://fuse.franklin.edu/dssc/13
