IKHLAS AL-HAMROUNI

TUNISIA – At a time when technology is accelerating, distances are shrinking, and algorithms are capable of writing complete texts in seconds, the most pressing question remains: Can artificial intelligence compete with humans in the field of literature?

Tunisian poet and writer Maha Dabash is one of the literary figures in the Sidi Bouzid region. Her literary record is rich with four distinguished poetry collections, alongside a bouquet of works dedicated to children. Her distinction is not limited to the literary aspect only; she is also considered a model of the innovative educator, as she won the National Prize for Pedagogical Creativity, obtained membership in the World Region for Education Experts, and her career was crowned with obtaining the title of best innovative educator in the world.

In this field, Maha Dabash says that technological development has offered many positives for Arabic literature, as it facilitated the process of publishing, communication, and sharing, and opened before the writer opportunities that were not available before, especially in dissemination and global and even national communication. But she stresses that the fundamental question is not in development itself, but in how to employ it.

She explained that "technological development is called development, but the problem here is in how we employ this technological development in the service of Arabic literature." She added that the matter is not a rejection of technology, but a conscious selection of what serves the text and interaction, because any Arabic or global literature deserves to reach and interact with others.

Inability to Imitate Humans

Regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of writing and literary creativity, Maha Dabash asks: "Can artificial intelligence convey the personal experience and the conscience by which the writer is moved?" She confirms that "the writer's conscience is the conscience of the nation and its experience."

She says: "I teach my students that written production is a function and a task, and artificial intelligence is capable of carrying it out in the best way. But writing and literature is a dual process that combines structure and spirit. Artificial intelligence may be capable of producing a text, but it is incapable of conveying that spirit."

She adds: "Artificial intelligence cannot compensate for the writer or imitate their role as a mirror reflecting the identity and civilization of their society. Literary creativity is a purely human experience that draws its immortality from its ability to convey deep feelings and influential messages to the reader's conscience, which is what the deaf machine lacks, as it is unable to leave any real imprint."

She notes that the shortcoming of artificial intelligence is not limited to the absence of feeling and awareness only, but extends to constitute a real threat that dissipates the values of literary excellence and uniqueness. The outputs it produces rely on repeated templates that lead to the similarity of texts and the absence of creative specificity that distinguished great writers throughout history such as Naguib Mahfouz and Tawfiq Al-Hakim.

The Difference Between Literature and Artificial Intelligence

Regarding her personal literary experience, Maha Dabash reveals that most of her writings stem from a lived experience. "I wrote about the Tunisian revolution in 2011, and the writing stemmed from the reality I lived, and I was keen to document it for fear that those facts would be lost to the next generation." She added that she wrote a lot about women and their reality, and about children who were victims of circumstances.

She concludes that literature stems from memory and reality more than anything else, and reality is what provokes the writer, and difficulties and personal experiences or the experiences of the surroundings are what push them to write.

Maha Dabash explains that she has reviewed many products of artificial intelligence, and found their language correct, carrying artistic images, but lacking the spirit. She says: "Writing is spirit, and artificial intelligence, however great its capabilities, remains incapable of conveying that spirit that the writer gives to their experience."

She concludes that despite the great fears and anger among many real writers and literary figures toward these large algorithms, she does not fear for literature, the writer, or the author. "When a writer is creative and innovative, the algorithm cannot erase or copy them. Human creativity, rooted in conscience, memory, and identity, remains resistant to the machine, however great its capabilities."

Writer Maha Dabash concludes that the true word is born from the womb of suffering, joy, memory, and belonging, and everything else is "merely rigid algorithms."