"It doesn't go away, that feeling of 'I don't know if the world should take me seriously; I'm just Michelle Robinson [Obama], that little girl on the south side who went to public school."

The Impostor Syndrome (externalized): Some people will do whatever they can to make you feel like a fraud, and others think you are a fraud. They will deny all your accomplishments and say that you are unworthy of personal or professional opportunities. They will discredit you: “You could not have possibly accomplished that.” They will deny you access to education or your credentials to pursue a career. They will try to make you think that you’re incapable of creating anything (accuse you of copying somebody else’s work, manipulating evidence, or pretending that artificial intelligence generated did all your work. They will try to convince you and others that you cannot possibly do anything right.  They will use your weakness against you and gaslight you (you take everything personally, you are not strong enough, you are not worthy of respect). You will begin to believe what they think of you. You will start to believe that you are not who you say you are.

What are some examples of being targeted by a person who wants you to feel like a fraud? If you personally wrote an essay and your teacher does not believe you wrote it because you wrote it well, you may begin to feel like an imposter.  If your teacher asks you to write a paragraph in class to ensure you are not using any assistance at home or AI-generated content, in this case, you are likely experiencing external imposter syndrome, which can be internalized if you believe your teacher. If such action has not been taken against other students, you may experience discrimination or bias, which may make you question yourself even more, leading to imposter syndrome (internalized)

The Impostor Syndrome (internalized): Some people, regardless of experience and education, may feel they are a fraud. The people around this person will say to him or her that they should pursue something (e.g., applying for a position above one’s level, perceiving a romantic partner as out of one’s league, accepting a job promotion). Still, this person may feel inferior and therefore avoid anything that seems too good to be true. Sometimes this person may be working on projects and become a perfectionist, procrastinate, or want to become superhuman (only I can get things done). 

Does having artificial intelligence help fight imposter syndrome? I think it increases the likelihood of people experiencing oppression while pursuing professional opportunities.  I say this with the understanding that there will be people who intentionally or unintentionally tell you — or others — that you are a fraud, leading to feelings of imposter syndrome, especially when they claim you used artificially generated intelligence, not assisted artificial intelligence, to do your work. You may begin defending yourself, only to find them standing firm in their belief that you are a fraud, which can lead you to doubt yourself (imposter syndrome: internalized the externalized experience). 

Side note: Using assisted artificial intelligence, in which you initially created the content and consulted AI for spell checks, grammar, and sentence structure, is allowed by most education institutions because it functions similarly to an English tutor (the only difference between referring to an English tutor and an assisted AI is that it saves you time (you do not need to schedule an appointment and money). On the other hand, generated artificial intelligence is not permitted by most educational institutions because it creates the actual content for you, and you make edits (it should be available only to people with disabilities to help them express themselves).

How do you fight imposter syndrome?  Understand yourself and the world around you. I think impostor syndrome stems not from within, but rather from the voices around you. Are you surrounded by people who do not believe in you? If that is the case, you may begin to feel how they perceive you, which is not always correct. There are many factors to consider. Think about how the English language was created: the rules of English writing were established centuries ago. There was a time when specific groups of people were not allowed to read or write. Today, we have diverse writers (e.g., Bilinguals, multilinguals, dialect speakers, dyslexics, people from different cultures and regions, and people from different social classes, but the same writing rules apply. In this case, are we an equitable society when it comes to writing in the English language? No. Therefore, do not take how others perceive you personally. But protect yourself.  If you take extra steps, it is not because you are a perfectionist, but because you do not want to be discredited after being burned in the past. The more you do the work and find the people who will support you, the more confident you will become, and the imposter syndrome will be something from the past. But you need good people around you, because people can make or break you if they have the power to do so.

Joanie