Artificial Intelligence has made us lazy in many ways and taken over tasks we used to do ourselves. We have ChatGPT answering our questions, Gemini writing our emails, and others helping with making everyday decisions. We don’t have to think as much or put in the same effort as before.
A feature on Android 16 wants to fix this over-reliance. It will permit apps to disable AI writing tools and give users more control, so that they don’t replace critical or even basic thinking, especially in areas where security is key.
There’s hardly a moment when you’re not filling out a form online or composing a message. Your keyboard often makes suggestions or even auto-fills the information with smart tools like Gboard’s predictive text or autocorrect. You probably don’t even cross-check the suggestions before you insert them. This ability to make quick input saves time, but AI can accidentally fill in the wrong information or alter your data.
Following the first developer preview, Android 16’s new feature will allow developers program their apps to disable such writing tools, especially from accessing sensitive fields. This second preview introduces the Writing Tools API. Android Authority spotted Google’s addition of two methods that developers will use to control AI tools: isWritingToolsEnabled() and setWritingToolsEnabled().
By default, such tools are enabled for all text fields on Android, which means your keyboard suggests corrections as you type whether you like it or not. The isWritingToolsEnabled() method checks if AI writing tools are turned on for a text field. Now, developers can add the option for apps to turn them off in situations where it’s unnecessary for them to be active. For example, when you’re typing account information or handling other sensitive data.
Related: Android 16 Set For June 3rd?
AI doesn’t have to do everything
The second method in Android 16’s DP2, setWritingToolsEnabled(), allows apps to stop AI from changing or rewriting text, which brings concerns to how much generative AI you can use. Basically, if an app can disable them, it removes the convenience of having AI assist with writing, proofreading, and suggesting improvements.
If you use AI to enhance your texts, you may have to use more manual effort where there’s no support for it. You’ll have to review your text yourself, fix mistakes, and make improvements without any automated help. That is, if you haven’t forgotten how to do it the old-fashioned way. That said the API isn’t foolproof, and there’s no confirmation that it will fully appear across many apps. For now, you can still rely on those tools that make your life easier.
But when you really think about it, we don’t want AI stepping in for everything. It’s one thing to have a bit of help with an email or a quick text, but trusting it to handle your most important, private details is a step too far. It’s good that Google is giving us control to some extent.
