An invitation that turned into an indictment

When Sam Altman invited Dave Eggers last year to speak to OpenAI employees, he probably expected an inspiring talk about how to be productive, how to combine writing novels, screenplays, and journalism with running nonprofits and literary projects. Eggers is not only the author of the famous novel The Circle — a sharp critique of the tech industry — but also the founder of the publishing house McSweeney's, several schools, and organizations supporting young writers.

But instead of productivity advice, Eggers launched into uncompromising criticism. According to the Financial Times and The Verge, he told employees:

"The impact of ChatGPT on teachers' lives is catastrophic. Whether you intended it or not, you have made every teacher's job immensely harder."

And he continued even more sharply: "If students use it for writing — which is the greatest tragedy — they will never learn to write. Their voice has been stolen from them. They will never again be able to speak their truth and tell their own story. And that silences an entire generation, perhaps two."

Who is Dave Eggers and why his words resonate

Eggers is no random critic. His 2013 dystopian novel The Circle predicted much of what we are experiencing in the tech world today — total transparency, loss of privacy, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech companies. The book became a bestseller and was adapted into a film in 2017 starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.

Eggers has long described AI-generated text as "pastiche nonsense." In an interview with the Financial Times, he went even further, stating that "no one will read novels written by AI" — calling the idea "gullible and ridiculous."

His criticism comes at a time when the use of ChatGPT in education is one of the hottest topics. While Sam Altman celebrated at the Sequoia AI Ascent conference that the younger generation uses ChatGPT as a "life advisor" and "operating system" — admitting that students "won't make a single life decision without asking ChatGPT" — Eggers sees it in exactly the opposite way: as an alarming sign of the decline of independent thinking.

Czech schools and AI: Between prohibition and integration

The debate that Eggers ignited at OpenAI's headquarters is not uniquely American. It also affects the Czech education system. While some Czech universities — such as Charles University or Masaryk University — have already begun working on guidelines for using AI ethically in teaching, a nationwide framework for Czech primary and secondary schools is still missing.

The Ministry of Education has not yet issued a unified position on using tools like ChatGPT in teaching or for homework. The result is chaos: some teachers ban and punish AI use, others ignore it and hope the problem will go away. Eggers's criticism shows that this is a fundamental civilizational question, not just a technological trend.

In Europe, the situation is further complicated by the fact that while American tech companies churn out increasingly powerful language models, European regulation (the AI Act) focuses primarily on safety and transparency — not on AI's impact on education and the cognitive development of the younger generation.

The irony of the invitation: Why Altman took the risk

It's hard to believe Sam Altman didn't know what he was getting into. Eggers's book The Circle is one of the most famous literary attacks on the tech industry — and Eggers himself has long been critical of AI. Yet Altman invited him.

Perhaps it was an effort to show openness — a gesture that OpenAI listens even to critics. Perhaps it was a display of confidence from a tech leader who believes his product can withstand the debate. Whatever the intention, the result was one of the strongest public condemnations of ChatGPT from a respected cultural figure — delivered right at the company's headquarters.

Eggers's words sting all the more because they come from someone who has devoted his life to writing — someone who founded schools, teaches young authors, and understands what it means to find one's own voice. When he says that AI is destroying this process, he is speaking not as a technophobe but as an educator and writer who sees the deeper consequences.

What the data says: AI use in schools is skyrocketing

Eggers's accusations are not just emotional rhetoric — they are backed by real data. According to a report OpenAI itself published in 2025, more than a third of Americans aged 18–24 use ChatGPT. And "more than any other method of use," students use it precisely for writing.

In the Czech Republic, exact figures are lacking, but according to a survey by the Median agency from spring 2026, AI tools are now regularly used by over 40% of Czech university students. And the trend is steeply rising.

Altman presents these numbers as a success — proof that young people have adopted AI the fastest. Eggers sees them as proof of failure. Two perspectives on the same statistic, two completely different worlds.