As large language models reshape how we create and access information, questions arise about how to frame their role in human creative and cognitive life. We argue that AI is best understood not as artificial intelligence but as a new medium -- one that, like writing before it, reshapes perception and enables novel forms of creativity. Drawing on Marshall McLuhan's insight that "the medium is the massage," we trace a lineage of technologies -- from DNA and the nervous system to symbols, writing, and now LLMs -- that mold cognition through a shared logic of flexible unfolding and co-creation. We observe that as technologies become more externalized and decoupled from physiology, they introduce both greater creative potential and greater risk of inauthenticity and manipulation. This tension is acute with LLMs, but not unprecedented: ancient responses to writing reveal a recurring human tendency to project intelligence onto powerful new media. Rather than viewing AI as a competitor, we propose framing it as a medium that foregrounds artistic skills: aesthetic judgment, curation, and the articulation of vision. We discuss implications for education, creative practice, and how society might adapt to this new medium as it did to writing.

翻译：随着大型语言模型重塑我们创造和获取信息的方式，关于如何界定其在人类创造性和认知生活中的作用的问题也随之产生。我们认为，人工智能最好被理解为一种新的媒介——就像之前的文字一样，它重塑感知并催生新颖的创造力形式。借鉴马歇尔·麦克卢汉“媒介即按摩”的洞见，我们追溯了一系列技术谱系——从DNA和神经系统，到符号、文字，再到如今的大型语言模型——这些技术通过一种共享的、灵活展开与共同创造的逻辑塑造着认知。我们观察到，随着技术日益外部化并与生理学解耦，它们既带来了更大的创造潜力，也带来了更大的不真实性和操纵风险。这种张力在大型语言模型中尤为突出，但并非史无前例：古代对文字的反应揭示了人类反复出现的倾向，即将智能投射到强大的新媒介上。我们建议，不应将人工智能视为竞争者，而应将其视为一种凸显艺术技能的媒介：审美判断、策展和愿景的阐述。我们讨论了其对教育、创造性实践的启示，以及社会应如何像适应文字一样适应这种新媒介。