When AI Acts as a Social Equaliser

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25-05-2025

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When AI Acts as a Social Equaliser
Resmi Prakash
3 minutes ago
The role of AI extends far beyond academia, it reaches into workplaces where proficiency in English plays an equally critical role.
Photo: Clarote & AI4Media / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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In the months of March and April, on the campus of my university, when the summer heat scorches just as much as the pressure of final submissions, it used to be a familiar sight, PhD students carrying their thesis chapters around, searching for someone, anyone, willing to proofread them-mainly for the language. And there is always a line. A long one. The chances aren't always good. I remember one such student, a junior from Malappuram in North Kerala. His thesis had some of the most compelling arguments, he had cleared one of the toughest entrance exams in the country, poured years of research into his work, and still, there he was, waiting, patiently, for someone to help him fix the language in his writing. He wasn't struggling with ideas or clarity of thought, but with something far more frustrating: the structure and language needed to express those ideas in a coherent way.
For many, that's the hard part, not the research itself, but putting it into form. Suddenly, you find yourself at the mercy of someone else, someone more proficient in English. It's a stark, humbling reminder of how much power the language holds. The same challenge arises when submitting a research paper for publication. You have a compelling insight for a publication but elaborating that into a publishable article for a journal, structuring ideas coherently and ensuring clarity, is not something everyone finds easy.
This is where AI has been transformative. Yes, the concerns about AI, its potential to threaten originality, the risks of plagiarism are valid. But it's also worth pausing to consider how, in certain corners of the writing world, AI is helping level the playing field. Now, a student no longer has to depend on someone else to go through their 300-page thesis or research papers. AI does not just fix errors, but also it helps articulate thoughts into well-structured sentences. With the rise of AI-powered writing tools, these students now have access to resources that assist with editing and improving clarity. This not only empowers the students from various backgrounds but also provides them the right to express their ideas without being hindered by language barriers. The uncertainty of what's coming next can be unnerving, but here and now, AI is emerging, at least in part, as an enabler. A quiet but powerful tool of empowerment.
The role of AI extends far beyond academia, it reaches into workplaces where proficiency in English plays an equally critical role. In small, often overworked offices, especially where clear and professional communication is expected, recent graduates frequently find themselves struggling. Unlike in larger corporate settings, where structured training programmes exist, these young professionals are expected to meet communication demands with little preparation and even less time and opportunities to upskill. In an NGO office, you'll find a young social worker, fresh out of college. Their grasp of the project is deep, their field reports meticulous, and their connection with the communities they work with, exceptional. And yet, they spend hours agonising over the right words, sentence structure, punctuation, not to mention getting the email salutations just right. Every email to a corporate funder, every quarterly report becomes a time-consuming task.
With tools like ChatGPT, polished reports can now be produced in a fraction of the time. The ideas are theirs, the work is theirs, the only thing AI does is help carry it across the finish line, in the language the world expects.
And this challenge of language isn't limited to urban or semi-urban spaces. In rural regions, where access to quality English education is even more limited, AI is opening doors that once seemed firmly shut. A school principal in Murshing, a remote village in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, a visionary and true change-maker, imagining far beyond what the present allowed, is preparing a proposal for an international educational grant and he uses ChatGPT to help him with the proposal. Writing such a proposal is never easy, especially when it must appeal to a global audience and be written in a language that isn't your own. Translating the vision of the school started by five brothers for the children of the community to give them a quality education that they did not have access to, into precise, structured, and persuasive language. Without AI, the distance between the vision and the language it needed might have remained too wide to cross.
Also read: AI Does Not Have the Answers to India's 'Aspirational' and Frustrated Economy
Moreover, for the keen learners, motivated to improve, they can continually hone their writing and language skills over time. AI's ability to offer continuous feedback means that learners can refine their writing skills over time, creating a cycle of improvement, an opportunity that was once a luxury only available to those from backgrounds where an English-proficient parent could correct their language. Now, with AI, this possibility is accessible to anyone, making it easier for learners to develop their language skills at their own pace, without the fear of judgment.
Another debate has been about the creativity of young writers today. While AI undoubtedly offers assistance in refining language and structuring ideas, it also raises questions about the originality and creativity of the writer. Recently, when I had the opportunity to interact with young college students, this is what I realized: nothing can take away your creativity. Creativity is, at its core, expression. And art is an instrument. As long as the writing remains the salve, if the purpose of a writer is to communicate and express themselves, regardless of the tools they use, they will still seek to produce original and personal work. AI still could offer significant assistance. AI can certainly help you in identifying the right synonym for that word you used in a poem, a task that once might have been handled by a well-meaning friend . It can also tell you the exact contexts in which certain words should be used. I remember in one of my graduation English classes, my teacher, quite agitated, pointed out an out-of-context use of the word 'elope,' where 'strolling' would have been more appropriate!
With the objective of publication, a writer might use AI to produce something that lacks originality. However, such instances of 'unoriginal' works in the arts have existed since the beginning of artistic expression. The personal conscience has not hindered it then, and it does not now. Fidelity has not always produced the 'best art', and the originality of 'masterpieces' has been questioned more than we like to admit.
In this area, the real risk, however, lies in the evolution of your personal writing style, which is important for a writer. It is something that's annealed through many trials. This takes a lot of falling down, righting yourself up, and doing it all over again. Sometimes, when you read a piece, you just know who the author is. It's like listening to a Jayachandran song in Malayalam. When you listen to his song, you immediately know its him. While AI offers writers new perspectives and suggests variations, overreliance can lead writers to lean too heavily on the tool, outsourcing decisions about style and tone instead of actively refining their own skills.
Taken together, stories like these remind us that the role of AI in writing isn't just about convenience. AI is not simply a writing assistant; it is increasingly becoming a tool that bridges deep-rooted gaps in language, opportunity, and voice. And it's not just about finishing reports or writing grant proposals-it's about what that writing makes possible, and who finally gets to be heard. By empowering individuals to overcome barriers of language and communication, AI is not just a tool for efficiency, it becomes a bridge across social, economic, and educational divides. When AI acts as a social equaliser, it fosters, to a great extent, a more inclusive society-one where opportunities are no longer limited by the language or education you were born into, but shaped by your will to learn, grow, and create. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say: this is a quiet revolution in equity.
Dr Resmi Prakash is a researcher, writer, and leads education initiatives at a non-governmental organisation.
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