The Congress ended with ‘Free the Word!’ – a series of readings and performances by Filipino and international poets and performers
Two discussion panels at the recent PEN Philippines National Congress tackled the disruptive phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative writing and the opportunities for Filipino writers in global publishing, issues and concerns discussed for the first time in such a setting.
The gathering of PEN members, scholars, and students was held last October 25 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Black Box Theater.
Also in the audience were some members of PEN International, who flew over for a three-day workshop that followed the Congress.
With the theme “Ang Manunulat sa Mundo (The Writer in the World),” the Congress’s two discussion panels aimed to shed light on topics that are relevant and timely for Filipino writers.
Also held were the prestigious Rizal Lecture, delivered by former PEN Philippines Board member Karina Bolasco, who recently retired from publishing after 40 successful years in the industry.
The guests for the first panel, which I moderated, were AI and technology expert Dr Dominic “Doc” Ligot, freelance writer and organizer Aimee Morales, and two literature and creative writing teachers – novelist Clarissa Militante of De La Salle University and poet, essayist, and fictionist Joselito D. De Los Reyes of the University of Santo Tomas.
Titled “The Filipino Writer and AI,” our panel explored the the use of AI in creative and commercial writing and education and implications for the present and future.
Doc Ligot began with a short talk explaining the basics of AI in writing, and a discussion ensued among the panel members about how AI might mimic the work of human authors and the consequences of this.
Some of the questions asked were: With the use of AI, can anything then still be said to be original?
Shall we have to put literary works through AI detectors, as some of us educators do with our students’ works?
What does this spell about the future of literary and book awards as well as publishing, with the possibility that some works may have been written with the use of AI and thus not entirely a human author’s work?
Should the AI then be credited as a co-author?
What about the fact that some commercial writers (copywriters and such) are now being replaced by AI?
In a post-event Facebook post, Doc Ligot summed up that panel quite well when he wrote that the “prevailing mood among writers at the PEN Congress was one of awe mixed with trepidation.
“AI has made significant strides in generating content that rivals human creativity, leaving writers both amazed by its capabilities and apprehensive about its implications for their livelihoods.”
Multi-awarded writer and University of the Philippines professor emeritus Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., who taught literature and creative writing for decades, wrote in a Qwertyman blog post that the panel discussion “expressed many of the anxieties brought on by the entry of AI into the classroom, the workplace, and everyday life: plagiarism and the loss of originality, the loss of jobs, indeterminate authorship, and the lack of liability for AI-produced work.
“With Filipinos being the world’s top users of social media, AI’s centrality in our digital future can only be assured, like it or not, and for better or for worse.”
Because the phenomenon is so new but so disruptive, no one had any clear answers yet.
It’s a matter of wait-and-see, and of experimenting with AI to take advantage of its benefits, particularly for practical purposes, while making sure that literary works retain their originality as human-created.
The panel on Filipinos and global publishing, hosted by musician and graphic novel writer Jay Ignacio with guests writer Joel Donato Ching Jacob, Almira Manduriao of Penguin South East Asia, and Honey de Peralta of Penguin International, discussed what Filipino writers need to do to have their voices heard by the world.
(De Peralta: For the U.S. and similar markets, getting an agent is the absolute mandatory first step. Manduriao: Just send in your manuscript even without an agent, as the process in Penguin SEA is different.)
Bolasco’s Rizal lecture emphasized Rizal’s contribution to Philippine letters and shaping the world of the Filipino writer, even as new, global opportunities allow Filipinos to become citizens of the world through telling their own, uniquely Filipino stories.
The Congress ended with “Free the Word!” – a series of readings and performances by Filipino and international poets and performers, among them Bibeth Orteza, Chai Fonacier, Banaue Miclat, and John Iremil Teodoro.
PEN Philippines president Sarge Lacuesta said that the revitalized organization under a new Board will resume its periodic book launches starting this month and will stage more forums in line with new collaborations and partnerships.
The 66th PEN Philippines National Congress was co-sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in particular the Intertextual Division that provided the expertise and hands-on work to stage and conduct the event.
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