The Socratic Approach to AI

OpenAI alum Jay Dixit, who taught writing and storytelling at Yale, teaches students how to use AI in ways that make them think more, not less.

Students are already using AI, so I teach them a mindset and a set of techniques for using it more thoughtfully: never as a shortcut, always as a sounding board and thinking partner to talk out their ideas and elicit their own insights.

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Quick answers ↓
Jay Dixit speaking at Wharton
Jay Dixit, then at OpenAI, speaking at Wharton.

Philosophy

My Philosophy

Now that AI can write essays and pass the bar exam, some people say we have to rethink the purpose of education. I don’t agree. To me, the purpose of education is the same as it’s always been: to equip students to navigate and make sense of their lives, to prepare them for the future, and to give them the habits of mind they’ll need to face whatever the world throws at them.

I went to Yale as an undergrad, and from the moment we set foot on campus, we got the same consistent message about the purpose and value of a liberal arts education, from the intro to the course catalog to the president’s address to the incoming class on the very first day of freshman year. The message was that the primary value of an education lies not in the knowledge you acquire, but in the thinking skills you develop: “learning how to think critically and creatively,” as Yale’s course catalog puts it, how to exercise independent judgment, and how to write, reason, and communicate clearly — the foundation for all professions.

As Yale’s then-president Richard Levin told our freshman class: What you learn — the specific knowledge you work hard to acquire — matters. But what matters even more is learning how to learn.

That’s how I still think about it.

For Students

A New Approach to AI in Education

In education, the focus is often on policing, detecting, and preventing AI misuse. Few are teaching students how to use AI well — ethically, responsibly, not as a shortcut but in a way that makes them think more, not less.

AI not as a content generator, but as a Socratic thinking partner.

What students learn:

  • Strengthen their critical thinking skills by answering Socratic questions that force them to clarify what they mean, examine assumptions, evaluate evidence, explain their reasoning, address counterarguments, and think through to a well-supported conclusion.
  • Develop the ability to write with clarity and force by writing their own drafts and using Socratic questions to help them think through what they mean, how to structure their ideas logically, and how to express them in their own words.
  • Develop the skill of revising their own drafts by evaluating and applying feedback from AI — without ever using AI to rewrite their work for them.
  • Build meta-awareness of when they’re using AI to exercise their own thinking and writing skills and when they’re letting AI do that work for them.

Many students know AI only as a way to cheat by letting it generate their written work for them. I teach students how to use AI to develop their own skills of rigorous thinking and clear writing.

ChatGPT conversation showing the Socratic approach to AI
ChatGPT conversation showing professor-style feedback for revision
ChatGPT conversation about checking understanding of a lecture

How It Works

Outsourcing vs. Socratic AI

Outsourcing

Outsourcing the writing:

“Here’s my assignment. Generate a draft for me.”

Outsourcing the thinking:

“Suggest a nuanced thesis statement I can use.”

Socratic AI

“Ask me questions to help me talk out my ideas, clarify my thinking, and figure out what I’m trying to say.”

Writing

Writing as a Superpower

College students everywhere are asking the same question: “In a world where AI can write for me, why should I learn to write at all?”

It’s actually a valid question.

We don’t teach students how to write just so they can write later on in their lives. They learn to write because learning to write clearly is the very best way to learn how to think clearly.

A hand writing in an open notebook, with faint marks becoming darker and more defined across the page.
Illustrated portrait of William Zinsser
“Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly — about any subject at all.”
William Zinsser, On Writing Well
Illustrated portrait of Joan Didion holding a cigarette
“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.”
Joan Didion

If writing were just about transcribing the ideas we have in our heads, it would be easy. But writing doesn’t just reveal what we think; it enables us to have thoughts we wouldn’t have had otherwise. The process of writing exposes gaps in our understanding: we think we understand something, then we start writing and realize there are things we haven’t thought through. Learning to write clearly trains the brain to structure ideas logically and shape vague thoughts into clear language that’s specific, defensible, and understandable to somebody else.

Paul Graham warns that AI is dividing the world into writes and write-nots: “Instead of good writers, OK writers, and people who can’t write, there will just be good writers and people who can’t write.” And that matters more than it sounds, because writing is thinking. “If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking,” as Leslie Lamport put it. A world of writes and write-nots will be a world of thinks and think-nots.

A hand writing in a notebook whose pages open into four pink doorways showing speaking, conversation, a meeting, and a finished manuscript.

In my flagship keynote, Writing as a Superpower, I give students an electrifying vision of what learning to write makes possible: the ability to think clearly, express ideas with force, and change people’s minds. The swagger of being able to play with language. The supreme confidence of having a masterful command over words and syntax, conveying meaning with thrilling precision.

Talks & Workshops

Talks and workshops for students and faculty

Student keynote: Writing as a Superpower

I show students why learning to write is the pathway to thrilling skills of thinking and self-expression, and teach them how to use AI to develop their own thinking and writing skills.

Student workshops and class visits on my Socratic approach to AI

Students practice using AI as a Socratic thinking partner: answering questions that help them work through their ideas, and using feedback to examine their reasoning and revise their own writing. They learn how to use AI to develop their abilities while doing the thinking and writing themselves.

Faculty workshops

I teach faculty how to guide their students toward using AI as a Socratic thinking partner instead of a shortcut. Faculty practice the techniques themselves and learn how to teach students to use them. I also advise university leaders on AI policy.

I’ve taught my Socratic approach to AI at Harvard, Columbia, Wharton, SXSW EDU, and PopTech.

Get in touch
Jay Dixit, speaking alongside speculative fiction writer Ken Liu and comedian Sarah Siskind at Harvard CS50.
Jay Dixit, then at OpenAI, speaking at Harvard’s CS50 class.

What I Believe

The Three Principles of Socratic AI for Students

Not using AI to cheat is the bare minimum. The real question is whether you’re using AI in a way that makes you think more, not less.

College isn’t just about getting grades and credentials. It’s about becoming the kind of person you want to be and developing the intellectual skills you’ll need to thrive in an uncertain future.

1. Don’t Outsource the Thinking

The Principle

Thinking and writing for yourself are skills you develop by using them. Don’t outsource that practice to AI.

The Paradox

Using AI doesn’t have to mean weakening your critical thinking skills. It just depends how you use it. When you let AI do the thinking for you, you squander the opportunity to develop your own understanding. But when you use AI as a Socratic thinking partner, it asks thoughtful questions that challenge you to think more, not less.

Every time AI challenges you to clarify what you mean, marshal evidence in support of your claims, or anticipate and address counterarguments, you get practice in the very skills people worry AI could weaken: examining your assumptions, explaining your reasoning, evaluating evidence, and thinking through to a logical conclusion. Like any skill, your ability to think rigorously and write clearly gets stronger every time you practice it. Used in a Socratic way, AI makes your critical thinking skills stronger, not weaker.

2. Embrace the Struggle

The Principle

Learning to think is hard, and the most powerful insights arise in those moments of discomfort and uncertainty when you’re struggling to formulate an argument or explain an idea clearly in your own words. So resist the temptation to let AI suggest ideas or generate writing when things get hard — those moments of productive struggle are when the real learning happens.

The Paradox

In those moments of doubt when you’re lost and stuck, AI can be a sounding board — a thinking partner that listens as you talk out your ideas, asks you clarifying questions, and helps you find your way forward. You still need to do the hard work of figuring out what you think and finding the words to express it.

3. Aim Higher

The Principle

The goal isn’t to do less work while AI does your assignments for you. Nor is it to do the same work faster with less effort. The point is to reach higher: to develop the intellectual skills to understand complex ideas, think for yourself, and express yourself with clarity and force.

The Paradox

The tool that could write your essay for you can also help you become a stronger thinker and writer. As a coach and sounding board, AI can ask questions, offer feedback, and provide structure and encouragement as you practice those skills and work through what you don’t yet understand.

Litmus Test

The Socratic AI Litmus Test

Does the way you’re using AI make you think less, or think more? Does using AI get less of yourself onto the page — or more?

From My Work at OpenAI

How My Socratic Questioning Approach Helped Inspire ChatGPT Study Mode

  1. Spring 2024: Interviews with Writers and Educators

    Inspired by my interviews with writing community members like Stew Fortier and Ken Liu, I begin exploring how to use AI to ask questions instead of just providing answers. The idea is simple: Flip the script and let AI ask the questions for a change.

  2. Summer 2024: I Develop the Socratic Framework

    I refine the “Socratic approach” through conversations with novelists, screenwriters, and writing professors. My radical idea: Rather than ban AI, we should teach students how to use AI in a way that makes them think more, not less.

  3. Fall 2024: I Publish My Student Guide

    I document my approach in the Student Writing Guide I publish on OpenAI.com in fall 2024, providing examples and strategies for educators and students.

  4. AI Should Amplify Thinking, Not Outsource It

    My philosophy — that “productive struggle” is important to learning and that students should “use AI as a tool, not an answer machine” — becomes central to OpenAI’s education messaging.

  5. August 2025: Inspiring Study Mode

    At OpenAI, I championed the idea that ChatGPT should not just supply answers, but actively ask questions that push people to think more deeply. That idea helped inspire the Socratic questioning feature of ChatGPT Study Mode. Instead of spoon-feeding answers, Study Mode asks questions that lead students to connections and insights of their own.

My writing on OpenAI.com

The cover of the OpenAI Student Writing Guide
A Socratic dialogue with ChatGPT
I discussed my Socratic approach to AI in a guide I wrote for students and writers on OpenAI.com.

Testimonials

Acclaim

“Fantastic. Absolutely the best presentation I’ve seen on how to actually use this stuff.”
Nick Gillespie, Editor-at-Large, Reason Magazine
“I love the way you think about AI.”
John Jamesen Gould, Founder and editor, The Signal; former digital editor, The Atlantic

Quick answers

At a glance

What will students learn?

Students strengthen their critical thinking skills, develop the ability to write with clarity and force, and learn to revise their own drafts. They also build meta-awareness of when they’re using AI to exercise their own thinking and writing skills and when they’re letting AI do that work for them.

What does the Socratic approach look like in practice?

AI not as a content generator, but as a Socratic thinking partner. The AI asks questions and gives feedback; the student does the thinking and the writing. “Ask me questions to help me talk out my ideas, clarify my thinking, and figure out what I’m trying to say.”

Why should students learn to write when AI can write for them?

Because learning to write clearly is the very best way to learn how to think clearly. The process of writing exposes gaps in our understanding, and trains the brain to structure ideas logically and shape vague thoughts into clear language that’s specific, defensible, and understandable to somebody else.

What principles guide your approach?

Don’t outsource the thinking. Embrace the struggle. Aim higher. And one litmus test: does the way you’re using AI make you think less, or think more?

What talks and workshops do you offer?

Student talks and workshops on my Socratic approach to AI, including my flagship keynote, Writing as a Superpower. I also teach faculty how to guide their students toward using AI as a Socratic thinking partner instead of a shortcut, and advise university leaders on AI policy.

What if our university restricts AI?

The keynote needs no AI at all; it makes the case for learning to write. The workshops teach the Socratic approach hands-on, with whatever tool the university permits.

What is your background?

I taught writing and storytelling at Yale and was OpenAI’s first Head of Community for Writers, where I championed the use of Socratic questioning in ChatGPT. That idea helped inspire the Socratic questioning feature of ChatGPT Study Mode. I’ve taught my Socratic approach to AI at Harvard, Columbia, Wharton, SXSW EDU, and PopTech.

Get in Touch

Teach your students how to use AI to think more, not less.

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