01/09/2026
Last August 26, Visiting Professor Dr. Dinah Roma addressed a question that confronts the humanities: what remains distinctly human in creative work, critical thought, and scholarship?
In her "Defense of the Difficult," Dr. Roma talked about what gets lost when the friction of intellectual and creative work is eliminated or minimized as this work is outsourced to artificial intelligence. She reflected on her own writing life and asked, "What should remain worth doing ourselves, even after machines become capable of doing it for us?"
As institutions, educators, and learners make sense of the many ways AI is reshaping knowledge and creative production, Dr. Roma reminded us that "sometimes the 'difficult' is not what stands between us and thought.
Sometimes the 'difficult' is where thinking begins."
This lecture concludes Dr. Roma's productive visit to the Department of English and Literature. We are grateful to the students, faculty, and guests who joined us in the lectures and workshop. Our sincerest gratitude also goes to the SU College of Law for allowing us to use the Justice Venancio D. Aldecoa Moot Court; to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research for making Dr. Roma's visiting professorship possible; to the College of Arts and Sciences; and of course, to Dr. Dinah Roma for generously sharing her time and insights to the Silliman University academic community.
All activities for Dr. Roma's visit were organized through The Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center.
The conversation about our intellectual and writing practices continues. See you in the next one!
Photos by Rhenelyn Chanthavysouk
