Paper Trail

If you were developing an upcoming magazine issue dedicated to AI, imagine pitching the idea for a profile on someone whose business it is to promote good old-fashioned handwritten correspondence. This clever juxtaposition is what Senior Staff Writer Scott Huler suggested to include in the Winter 2024 issue of Duke Magazine, out now in mailboxes throughout the Duke community.

The university at large is both embracing and wrestling a new norm. As the cover story describes, “Across its campuses, Duke researchers are designing or applying algorithms in bold new ways. At the same time, professors and students are tackling the thorny questions that arise when computers try to emulate the human mind.” Thank you to Scott and Duke University for including Dearist in this evolving conversation.

I first met Scott in 2021, when the rise in hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans moved me to write a reflection on my childhood experiences and the unique freedom we as humans have to change our minds. Scott’s empathy and perspective helped me refine the essay, which appeared in Duke Magazine that same year. It became my first published piece of writing. 

I think back on that time, corresponding with Scott, as an inflection point in my career. I began to see myself as a writer. That shift ultimately led to the creation of Dearist and my further belief in the power of empathy (and writing) as a means for good in this world.