AI and the 'meat proxy': a Roman slave lesson on skill decay

The essay's starting point is a piece of Roman history from Candida Moss's book, published in July 2026, about how slaves were involved in producing documents and literary works, including the New Testament. In that first chapter, the author describes how writing conditions were harmful to the body, so elites handed the work to slaves — and then, having stopped using the skills, found their own handwriting and translation growing worse. The essay extends this into the present.

The essay identifies two separate dangers. One is that handing over work — or thinking — causes abilities to decline. The other is claiming another's output as your own. The author cites Cybernews, which argues one cause of becoming a 'meat proxy' is a lack of confidence in one's own skills. The essay also notes Moss's point that Roman dictation may have used shorthand, meaning a slave's own editorial judgment could have entered the text attributed to the master.

The author's personal admission is the essay's turning point: he says his own ability to read and write code is beginning to fade, even though he loves thinking and thought he disliked AI. He concludes he has no clear answer for how to avoid crossing the line, but wants at least to be aware of where he now stands.