Reassessing Collaborative Writing Theories and Frameworks in the Age of LLMs: What Still Applies and What We Must Leave Behind

2025/05/22 by Daisuke Yukita, Tim Miller, Yukita, Daisuke +3
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Psychology · #AI in Service Interactions #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC) #Personal Information Management and User Behavior #Team Dynamics and Performance

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.16254

openalex publication_date 2025/05/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

In this paper, we conduct a critical review of existing theories and frameworks on human-human collaborative writing to assess their relevance to the current human-AI paradigm in organizational workplace settings, and draw seven insights along with design implications for human-AI collaborative writing tools. Our main finding was that, as we delegate more writing to AI, our cognitive process shifts from the traditional planning/translating/reviewing process to a planning/waiting/reviewing process, breaking the process due to the waiting that occurs in between. To ensure that our cognitive process remains intact, we suggest a "prototyping" approach, where the tool allows for faster iterations of the cognitive process by starting with smaller chunks of text, and gradually moving on to a fully fleshed-out document. We aim to bring theoretical grounding and practical design guidance to the interaction designs of human-AI collaborative writing, with the goal of enhancing future human-AI writing software.

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