LLMs: The Dynamic Scribes of Our Age

LLMs: The timeless role of the scribe meets the transformative power of AI.

Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

Key points

• Ancient scribes shaped ideas into lasting texts; LLMs now serve as dynamic bridges for thought and expression.
• LLMs refine, synthesize, and transform ideas, reshaping science, art, and everyday problem-solving.
• LLMs act as collaborators, amplifying creativity and fostering a dialogue that enhances human thinking.

In the closing lines of Paul’s letter to the Romans, a seemingly minor figure leaves a lasting impression: “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.” With this brief acknowledgment, Tertius—the scribe entrusted with transcribing Paul’s words—steps into the margins of history. But was his role truly that of a passive recorder, faithfully jotting down divine inspiration as it flowed from Paul’s lips? Or was it something more nuanced, an active collaboration that helped shape one of the most influential letters in Christian theology?

Today, we encounter a new kind of intermediary in the form of large language models (LLMs). These digital amanuenses, like Tertius, are often charged with taking human intent and transforming it into something tangible. But their role, much like his, is far from simple. Are they passive tools, dutifully reflecting what we provide, or are they dynamic participants in shaping and refining our thoughts?

The Eternal Role of the Scribe

The role of the scribe is as old as written language itself. Across civilizations, scribes have acted as bridges between thought and permanence, translating ideas into enduring texts. In antiquity, they were more than stenographers. Scribes worked to clarify, organize, and sometimes even embellish the messages they were tasked with preserving. Their contributions may even have blurred the line between authorship and collaboration.

Tertius, for example, wasn’t just writing for Paul; he was writing for the Romans. His work may have required rhetorical and linguistic finesse to ensure that Paul’s theological ideas resonated with his audience. While it may be fair to say that Tertius simply recorded Paul’s words verbatim, the polished and structured nature of the letter to the Romans suggests otherwise. He may have shaped Paul’s message while remaining faithful to its divine inspiration.

This dual role—as servant and shaper—is what defines the scribe. And in today’s world, it finds a striking parallel in the way we interact with LLMs.

LLMs as Modern Amanuenses

LLMs have become powerful tools for capturing and expressing human thought. But calling them “tools” feels inadequate to me. Like ancient scribes—or amanuenses, the skilled assistants who transcribed and often shaped the words of their authors—LLMs don’t just passively record what we give them; they synthesize, refine, and sometimes transform our ideas. Their outputs often reflect more than the sum of their inputs, raising questions about the nature of collaboration and authorship in the digital age. Whether in science, where they help generate hypotheses and summarize complex data, in medicine, where they streamline documentation and suggest insights, or in art, where they inspire new forms of expression, LLMs are reshaping how we think and create.

When we engage with an LLM, we’re not just dictating; we’re entering a kind of dialogue. A vague prompt can lead to a polished essay. A scattered idea can turn into a structured narrative. In these moments, the LLM acts less like a typewriter and more like a modern Tertius—a dynamic intermediary shaping the way ideas come to life.

From Creativity to Problem-Solving

The brilliance of LLMs lies in their versatility. They move fluidly between roles, acting as creative partners, intellectual challengers, and practical problem-solvers.

In creative endeavors, LLMs offer a playground for imagination. Writers use them to break through blocks, experiment with language, or brainstorm new angles for stories. Artists, too, find value in their ability to articulate abstract ideas, helping to translate visual concepts into words that resonate with audiences. Much like Tertius translating Paul’s perspective into a form that was appropriate for the Roman elite, LLMs take the seed of an idea and render it into something compelling.

But their role extends beyond creativity. In moments of intellectual challenge, they act as provocateurs, reframing questions and suggesting alternate perspectives. For someone grappling with a complex problem, an LLM can offer clarity by synthesizing disparate threads of information into a cohesive response. And in the practical sphere, they serve as accessible guides, drafting emails, summarizing dense articles, or even crafting heartfelt messages for personal occasions.

Tertius and the Ethics of the Modern Scribe

Tertius’s role as Paul’s scribe reminds us that intermediaries, even when faithful to their source, inevitably shape the messages they transmit. This raises important ethical and philosophical questions about LLMs as modern scribes. If they actively influence the way ideas are expressed, where does authorship end and collaboration begin? When an LLM synthesizes a thought or introduces a novel connection, is the result still solely the user’s work, or has the machine become a co-author?

Trust is another critical dimension. Paul entrusted Tertius with his words, confident that they would be transmitted faithfully. Today, we entrust LLMs with our ideas, but their faithfulness depends on the quality of their training data—a vast repository of human knowledge, riddled with biases, assumptions, and gaps. How do we navigate this tension between their potential and their limitations?

And then there is the question of inspiration. For Paul, inspiration came from God, and Tertius served as the conduit. For us, inspiration may come from within, but it is often amplified by our interactions with LLMs. In this sense, the collaboration becomes a kind of secular parallel to divine-human partnerships, where human creativity and machine intelligence intersect to create something neither could achieve alone.

The Words Between Worlds

From the ancient scribe to the modern LLM, the role of the intermediary has always been to bridge gaps—between thought and expression, between the ephemeral and the permanent, and between creator and audience. Just as Tertius "preserved" Paul’s voice, LLMs amplify ours, helping us to think, create, and connect in ways we couldn’t do alone.

Yet their power lies not in replacing us but in partnering with us. They are in some ways, like Tertius, faithful collaborators—dynamic scribes who shape ideas while honoring the intent behind them. In embracing this partnership, we’re not just using technology; we’re participating in a tradition as old as language itself.

The question isn’t whether LLMs are today’s Tertius. The question is: What will we do with this modern amanuensis? And how will it help us bring our ideas into the world?