Sharjah Narrative Forum concludes 21st session in Egypt

Closing ceremony and recognition
The closing ceremony took place at the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo, attended by Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah’s Department of Culture; Dr Ashraf Al-Azzazi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Culture; Mohamed Ibrahim Al Qusair, Director of Cultural Affairs and Forum Director; Hussein Al-Qabbahi, Director of Luxor Poetry House; and numerous critics, academics, and specialists. Certificates of appreciation were presented to participants to acknowledge their contributions and encourage continued creative work.

AI and new narrative forms
The final day addressed the second, third, and fourth themes, alongside a session of testimonies by participating creators. The second theme, titled “Will Artificial Intelligence Create New Narrative Elements?”, featured Dr Haitham Al-Hajj, Dr Mohamed Al-Khouli, Said Wakeel, and Rehab Ramadan, moderated by Dr Suheir Al-Mosadfa. Dr Haitham Al-Hajj concluded that AI can serve as a supportive tool in Arab narrative but cannot fully replace human creativity; overreliance risks producing derivative content. Said Wakeel highlighted the cultural sector’s transformative moment, emphasising the need to explore AI’s implications for Arab cultural production. Rehab Ramadan examined AI’s impact on literature and the arts, noting its potential to innovate yet questioning its effect on human originality and legal authorship. Dr Al-Khouli’s research explored AI’s role in shaping new narrative components, ultimately concluding that AI alone cannot produce a novel without human input.

“The human condition” under AI scrutiny

The third theme focused on “Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on the Disintegration of the Human Condition in the Novel”, featuring critics and researchers Dr Houda Saleh, Dr Adel Dirgham, Dr Mohamed Zidan, and Dr Eman Essam Khalaf, with Dr Al-Sayyid Najm moderating.

Dr Houda Saleh’s paper explored AI’s multifaceted effects on narrative, particularly its role in challenging traditional notions of the human condition within literary texts. Her research highlighted that AI does not eliminate the human element but compels a redefinition of it, analysing its impact on narrative form and citing global and Arab literary works influenced or generated by AI. The study also addressed AI’s relationship with posthumanism and its implications for authorship, originality, and the essence of human expression, drawing on posthumanist theory, simulations of consciousness, and existential risk frameworks.

Dr Adel Dirgham questioned whether AI is a tool or a replacement, arguing that while AI can replicate existing patterns, it cannot match the uniqueness of human creativity tied to personal experience and language. AI’s growing role in literature may therefore destabilise established norms, acting as both collaborator and competitor to human authorship.

Dr Mohamed Zidan examined the cross-cultural transfer of theories, translation challenges, and how foreign ideas are adapted for local intellectual debates. He proposed future comparative studies tracing the reception of Western thinkers such as Barthes, Derrida, and Foucault in the Arab world, assessing the applicability of analytical frameworks developed by critics like Taqi Al-Mursi.

Dr Eman Khalaf’s study surveyed 41 specialists, including writers, critics, and computer science experts, to gauge perspectives on AI’s potential to disrupt the human-centric nature of the novel. Findings indicated that over half had read AI-generated texts, showing growing awareness, though most had not yet used AI for literary analysis, expressing openness to doing so in the future.

Will the novel disappear?

The fourth theme explored challenges facing writing in the age of artificial intelligence, under the title “Will the Novel Disappear or Remain a Chronicle of Humanity and Place?”. Participants included Dr Aydi Ali Jumaa, Dr Hanan El-Sharnouby, Dr Saeed Shawky, and Ahmed Mogahed Gado, with Dr Ezzat Qamhawi moderating.

Dr Jumaa questioned whether AI could end the human novel, concluding that while AI can generate impressive texts, it often lacks coherence and spirit and still requires human intervention. He emphasised that AI reflects human experience but cannot replace the existential presence found in authentic novels.

Dr El-Sharnouby examined AI’s potential to challenge the taste of readers and critics, arguing that AI can imitate plot structures and offer alternative endings, yet it remains a tool. True narrative involves character development, emotional depth, and complex temporal structures that algorithms cannot genuinely replicate. Human creativity, inspired by emotion and life experience, remains irreplaceable.

Dr Saeed Shawky analysed AI-generated stories alongside Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, comparing natural and generative storytelling in terms of structure, meaning, and spirit. He concluded that AI can mimic form but lacks the human essence inherent in storytelling, which serves as a source of existential and cultural insight.

Dr Ahmed Gado explored the future of literary novels amid rapid AI technological developments, assessing how human creativity and cultural identity are preserved compared with algorithmic writing. He highlighted the novel’s flexibility in adapting to technological changes while retaining its human core.

Testimonies from authors
A session of testimonies featured authors reflecting on their experiences in narrative writing, emphasising that the novel remains a calling to the inner self and the human condition. Participants included Iffat Barakat, Ashraf El-Ashmawy, Mohamed Samir Nada, and Jala’a Al-Tairi, moderated by Dr Amani El-Gendy.