A(i)-Think is a space where I think through theory. Here I document my engagement with texts, concepts, and debates that shape my research. The reflections grow from my own reading, questioning, and interpretation of the works I encounter. Artificial intelligence assists only in organizing, paraphrasing, and presenting ideas in a syntax that a wider audience may easily understand. Is this then “pure 100% AI generated”? Or is it not? Does the use of AI in shaping language diminish the value of thought? I leave that question open for readers to decide.

Inspired by René Descartes’ original proposition, “I think, therefore I am,” one might also say in the present context: 

Reading and writing have never been equally accessible to everyone. Historically, literacy has often been a privilege, inherited through social and educational environments that allowed certain groups to read, write, and participate in intellectual discourse. Not everyone had access to these conditions, and therefore not everyone inherited the legacy of reading and writing in the way institutions often assume.

My own relationship with language reflects this uneven access. My mother tongue is Marathi. I speak Marathi at home and among friends. I also speak Hindi and Kannada, having grown up in Karnataka. English entered my life primarily through schooling. Over time I began reading and writing in English, and in many instances I now find myself thinking in English as well. Yet English was not a language I inherited naturally; it was something I learned gradually, in my own way.

Because of this, my engagement with English has always been practical rather than ideal. I was never taught what the “perfect” syntax of English writing should look like. I learned it through use, mistakes, and constant exposure. When I encounter academic texts today, I sometimes find myself reading the same sentence multiple times in order to understand what the author intends to say. This led me to observe that academic writing often follows a very specific structure and syntax. The same idea could often be expressed more simply, in a way that feels closer to conversation rather than an unchangeable block of complex language.

The emergence of artificial intelligence has introduced a new dimension to this situation. AI can generate structured text that resembles academic writing. But this raises an important question: if AI generates the text, where does the content come from? In my case, the prompts, ideas, arguments, chronology, and questions originate with me. If I provide AI with the ideas I want to explore, the concepts I want to examine, and the arguments I want to pursue, the machine can assist in shaping those thoughts into a form that academic readers may find familiar.

It is from this position that this Research Notebook emerges.