Writing, Friction, and Ghoulish AI: An Interview with Nicholas Carr.

This article centers on Nicholas Carr's perspectives regarding the impact of digital technologies on reading, writing, cognition, work, and social relationships. Carr, known for his 2008 article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" and subsequent books such as *The Shallows* (2010), *The Glass Cage* (2014), and *Superbloom* (2025), explores how technology reshapes human attention, effort, and connection, often reducing complex activities to frictionless, superficial experiences. He expresses concern about generative AI's potential to undermine critical thinking, imaginative writing, and the intrinsic value of reading and writing, particularly within liberal arts education. Carr also discusses the historical and social significance of personal correspondence and warns against ceding cultural influence to AI companies lacking a literary or humanistic background.