<![CDATA[This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the perceived negative impacts of AI writing assistants on the writing skills of academics in Lhokseumawe, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five lecturers and seven students from local universities, all of whom are experienced users of tools such as Grammarly, ChatGPT, and QuillBot. Thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed four primary concerns. First, a significant dependency on AI for mechanical editing led to the atrophy of independent grammatical and syntactical skills. Second, over-reliance resulted in a diminution of critical thinking and analytical depth, producing texts with polished surfaces but generic, superficial arguments. Third, the homogenizing effect of AI algorithms eroded users' authorial voice and linguistic authenticity. Finally, a unique socio-linguistic challenge was identified, where AI tools trained primarily on English data provided biased and unnatural suggestions for writing in Indonesian, potentially undermining local linguistic conventions. The findings suggest that the unreflective use of AI initiates a "dependency-deficit cycle," posing a threat to foundational writing competencies. The study concludes that a paradigm shift towards critical, human-centric pedagogy is essential, advocating for integrated digital literacy training and balanced pedagogical strategies to ensure AI serves as an augmentative tool rather than a replacement for intellectual development.]]>
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