are papers really still something to be consumed by humans though?

Papers themselves become a source, something to check back on. They dont write themselves, it takes significant effort to make a high quality paper even with the help of AI.

And if you write a review paper that is a needed piece of literature, but this is also something that can be perfectly digested by a well crafted paper harness. and review hundreds of papers in the time you review 3.

what is it going to be? Speed of scientific progress or human crafted prose?