Keynote Lecture II: Prof. Dr. Katrin Lehnen
The emergence of generative AI is fundamentally changing the nature of writing. Programs like ChatGPT allow us to produce coherent written or multimodal texts at impressive speed—even with relatively simple prompts. This development is reshaping traditional concepts of authorship and originality. At the same time, the automation of writing has brought about a new dimension of collaborative writing, leading to constellations in which machines act as autonomous participants in the writing process (Lehnen 2023; Steinhoff 2023). AI can be addressed in various roles: It may act as a ghostwriter, taking over the writing entirely; as a writing tutor, offering support and feedback; or as a writing partner, engaging with the human in co-creating the text (Steinhoff, in press). Beyond that, writing with AI doesn’t only mean using it to generate texts—so-called “Chat-to-Generate” or “Chat-to-Create”—but also includes a new kind of dialogic co-writing through ongoing interaction, what we might call “Chat-to-Chat” (Steinhoff & Lehnen 2025).
In this talk, I explore how these new role constellations and modes of collaboration can be theorized and empirically observed. What kinds of roles and collaborative dynamics emerge when “machine participants” (Steinhoff 2023)—that is, digital infrastructures and writing technologies—are able to automate or even fully take over writing tasks? What kind of co-activity is involved when programs correct or complete words, translate entire texts, or—like generative AI—produce full texts from scratch? And finally: how is collaboration in writing transformed when it is no longer initiated exclusively by humans, but also by machines?
Bio:
Katrin Lehnen has been Professor of German Language and Media Didactics at Justus Liebig University Giessen since 2007. Her work focuses on the study of writing processes and practices across various domains and institutional contexts. These include academic and professional writing, collaborative and digital writing, and more recently, writing with AI. Her research interests are interdisciplinary, combining questions from linguistics and literary studies (e.g., authorship and memory) with sociological, educational, and language didactic perspectives—such as how writing acquisition and learning are transformed by digitalization (digital habitus). Her academic practice has included serving as the director of the Center for Media and Interactivity (ZMI, now DimL) as well as holding the position of Deputy Representative for Women and Gender Equality at the University of Giessen.
Literature
Lehnen, Katrin (2023): Kooperatives digitales Schreiben in und außerhalb der Schule. Ko-Autorschaft und Textfeedback zwischen Vergemeinschaftung und automatisierter Textproduktion. In: Der Deutschunterricht. Themenschwerpunkt: Digitales Schreiben, Heft 5/2023, herausgegeben von Kirsten Schindler, 18-28
https://journals.ub.uni-koeln.de/index.php/midu/article/view/2059/2224
Steinhoff, Torsten (2023): Der Computer schreibt (mit). Digitales Schreiben mit Word, WhatsApp, ChatGPT & Co. als Koaktivität von Mensch und Maschine. In: MiDU - Medien im Deutschunterricht 5(1). 1–16. https://journals.ub.uni-koeln.de/index.php/midu/article/view/1912
Steinhoff, Torsten / Lehnen, Katrin (2025, in press): Schreiben mit Künstlicher Intelligenz: Das GPT-Modell (Ghost, Partner, Tutor). Erscheint in: leseräume.de
Preprint https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388591263_Steinhoff_Torsten_Lehnen_Katrin_im_Druck_Schreiben_mit_Kunstlicher_Intelligenz_Das_GPT-Modell_Ghost_Partner_Tutor_Preprint_Erscheint_in_leseraumede