Synthetic Genres: Expert Genres, Non-Specialist Audiences, and Misinformation in the Artificial Intelligence Age

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2025 Open Access

Synthetic Genres: Expert Genres, Non-Specialist Audiences, and Misinformation in the Artificial Intelligence Age

Brad Mehlenbacher University of Waterloo ; Ana Patricia Balbon University of Toronto ; Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher University of Waterloo

Abstract

Drawing on rhetorical genre studies, we explore research article abstracts created by generative artificial intelligence (AI). These synthetic genres—genre-ing activities shaped by the recursive nature of language learning models in AI-driven text generation—are of interest as they could influence informational quality, leading to various forms of disordered information such as misinformation. We conduct a two-part study generating abstracts about (a) genre scholarship and (b) polarized topics subject to misinformation. We conclude with considerations about this speculative domain of AI text generation and dis/misinformation spread and how genre approaches may be instructive in its identification.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2025-04-01
DOI: 10.1177/00472816231226249
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Open Access: OA PDF Hybrid
Topics: genre theory multimodality artificial intelligence scientific writing multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Omizo (2025)

Research Brief: Transformers

College Composition and Communication
Mehlenbacher et al. (2025)

Misinformation As Genre Function: Insights on the Infodemic from a Genre-Theore…

Technical Communication Quarterly

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AI for Social Justice: New Methodological Horizons in Technical Communication

Technical Communication Quarterly
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What Can Automation Tell Us About Agency?

Rhetoric Society Quarterly
BERKENKOTTER et al. (1993)

Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective

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