diff --git a/src/go/ast/print.go b/src/go/ast/print.go
index ccef0577da0f7a..a33980297c2181 100644
--- a/src/go/ast/print.go
+++ b/src/go/ast/print.go
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ func (p *printer) print(x reflect.Value) {
 		p.printf("}")
 
 	case reflect.Slice:
-		if s, ok := x.Interface().([]byte); ok {
+		if s, ok := reflect.TypeAssert[[]byte](x); ok {
 			p.printf("%#q", s)
 			return
 		}