Is ChatGPT friend or foe?  Should the whole world, as Australia has done, relegate essay writing to inside classrooms?  Is "the academic essay dead"?  Or is ChatGPT, as some have contended, a tool for critical thinking that we should embrace as a new ally in teaching students? As Steve discusses, ChatGPT certainly is a revelation, but no one is really talking about why, and it might not be what you expect.