# Collage is the New Writing: Exploring the Fragmentation of Text and User Interfaces in AI Tools

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.17217 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.17217/

## Key facts

- Cited by 13 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 26 of its 86 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 May 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 26 of 26)

- [Survey of Hallucination in Natural Language Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.03629/) (2022)
- [CoAuthor: Designing a Human-AI Collaborative Writing Dataset for Exploring Language Model Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.06796/) (2022)
- [Does Writing with Language Models Reduce Content Diversity?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05196/) (2023)
- [Co-Writing Screenplays and Theatre Scripts with Language Models: An Evaluation by Industry Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14958/) (2022)
- [Gmail Smart Compose: Real-Time Assisted Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.00080/) (2019)
- [The Metacognitive Demands and Opportunities of Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10893/) (2023)
- [Sparks: Inspiration for Science Writing using Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.07640/) (2021)
- [A Design Space for Intelligent and Interactive Writing Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14117/) (2024)
- [The Impact of Multiple Parallel Phrase Suggestions on Email Input and Composition Behaviour of Native and Non-Native English Writers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.09157/) (2021)
- [Smart Reply: Automated Response Suggestion for Email](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04870/) (2016)
- [Beyond Text Generation: Supporting Writers with Continuous Automatic Text Summaries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.09323/) (2022)
- [VISAR: A Human-AI Argumentative Writing Assistant with Visual Programming and Rapid Draft Prototyping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07810/) (2023)
- [The Value, Benefits, and Concerns of Generative AI-Powered Assistance in Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12004/) (2024)
- [Choice Over Control: How Users Write with Large Language Models using Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Prompting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03199/) (2023)
- [Writer-Defined AI Personas for On-Demand Feedback Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.10433/) (2023)
- [Text Editing by Command](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.12826/) (2020)
- [ConvXAI: Delivering Heterogeneous AI Explanations via Conversations to Support Human-AI Scientific Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.09770/) (2023)
- [LaMPost: Design and Evaluation of an AI-assisted Email Writing Prototype for Adults with Dyslexia](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.02308/) (2022)
- [Interacting with next-phrase suggestions: How suggestion systems aid and influence the cognitive processes of writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.00636/) (2022)
- [The HaLLMark Effect: Supporting Provenance and Transparent Use of Large Language Models in Writing with Interactive Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.13057/) (2023)
- [Rambler: Supporting Writing With Speech via LLM-Assisted Gist Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.10838/) (2024)
- [Effective Interfaces for Student-Driven Revision Sessions for Argumentative Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.07018/) (2021)
- [Storyfier: Exploring Vocabulary Learning Support with Text Generation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.03864/) (2023)
- [CatAlyst: Domain-Extensible Intervention for Preventing Task Procrastination Using Large Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.05678/) (2023)
- [Suggestion Lists vs. Continuous Generation: Interaction Design for Writing with Generative Models on Mobile Devices Affect Text Length, Wording and Perceived Authorship](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.00870/) (2022)
- [Inspo: Writing with Crowds Alongside AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16521/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 13 of 13)

- [Prototypical Human-AI Collaboration Behaviors from LLM-Assisted Writing in the Wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.16023/) (2025)
- [Survey on AI-Generated Media Detection: From Non-MLLM to MLLM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.05240/) (2025)
- [Frankentext: Stitching random text fragments into long-form narratives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18128/) (2025)
- [Penalizing Transparency? How AI Disclosure and Author Demographics Shape Human and AI Judgments About Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.01418/) (2025)
- [Collaborative Document Editing with Multiple Users and AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.11826/) (2025)
- [Phraselette: A Poet's Procedural Palette](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.06335/) (2025)
- [PromptCanvas: Composable Prompting Workspaces Using Dynamic Widgets for Exploration and Iteration in Creative Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.03741/) (2025)
- [The AI Memory Gap: Users Misremember What They Created With AI or Without](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.11851/) (2025)
- [Texterial: A Text-as-Material Interaction Paradigm for LLM-Mediated Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.00452/) (2026)
- [Exploring Mobile Touch Interaction with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.07629/) (2025)
- [Who Owns the Text? Design Patterns for Preserving Authorship in AI-Assisted Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.10236/) (2026)
- [Useful for Exploration, Risky for Precision: Evaluating AI Tools in Academic Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.10125/) (2026)
- [Semantic Prompting: Agentic Incremental Narrative Refinement through Spatial Semantic Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.19971/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This essay proposes and explores the concept of Collage for the design of AI writing tools, transferred from avant-garde literature with four facets: 1) fragmenting text in writing interfaces, 2) juxtaposing voices (content vs command), 3) integrating material from multiple sources (e.g. text suggestions), and 4) shifting from manual writing to editorial and compositional decision-making, such as selecting and arranging snippets. The essay then employs Collage as an analytical lens to analyse the user interface design of recent AI writing tools, and as a constructive lens to inspire new design directions. Finally, a critical perspective relates the concerns that writers historically expressed through literary collage to AI writing tools. In a broad view, this essay explores how literary concepts can help advance design theory around AI writing tools. It encourages creators of future writing tools to engage not only with new technological possibilities, but also with past writing innovations.