SINGAPORE – Flock to generative artificial intelligence (AI) because it helps you write easier and quicker. But do not write off the plain notebook, for the old technology does something ChatGPT cannot – it enlarges the mind of its user.

Recently, the 68 Singapore writers who criticised the National Library Board’s use of generative AI saw sympathetic reactions, but also drew flak for being “Luddites”. Amid this debate, it is writer Roland Allen’s description of the notebook as a “cognitive technology” that I have been returning to for answers.

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