SINGAPORE (Taiwan News) — The recent Singapore Writers Festival has concluded under the theme “Shape of Things to Come.”
Festival Director Yong Shu Hoong said the theme, which coincides with Singapore’s 60th year of independence, was inspired by H.G. Wells’ 1933 novel, “The Shape of Things to Come.”
Yong explained that he wanted the event to “hold both impulses in conversation: remembrance and re-imagination,” adding that the novel where utopia emerges out of chaos was particularly striking because of how stories from the past can act as blueprints for hope.
SWF featured a slate of highly anticipated programs that showcased both international literary stardom and deep local culture. Among the most popular offerings were three distinctive events.
Leading the charge was the Festival Keynote Talk, “R.F. Kuang – Beyond the Ivory Tower,” which offered a powerful discussion with the critically acclaimed author known for blending fantasy and social commentary.
For those interested in local heritage, “Writing Singapore with Liang Wern Fook” offered a rare session with the cultural icon, exploring his profound influence on Singaporean literature and music.
The “A Feast of Words and Flavours” series uniquely combined gastronomy and literature, delivering a multi-sensory experience that merged storytelling with the art of fine dining.
The festival’s structure embodied this tension, unfolding as a dialogue between past and future. It featured the “SG60 Homage,” which reflected on the nation’s publishing heritage across its four national languages, and the “Sci-fi Spotlight,” which imagined possible futures through technology and culture.
Yong summarized the approach, “The Festival is, in a way, an act of time travel — looking backwards to understand what lies ahead. I believe that balance of reflection and imagination is how we move meaningfully into the next 60 years.”
The festival directly addressed the rise of generative artificial intelligence, encouraging audiences to explore the boundary between tool and soul through programs like Ken Liu’s keynote.
Yong affirmed that facing AI reveals why people write. He framed the challenge as an “evolving dialogue between human imagination and technological possibility.”
“I hope discussions at SWF remind us that while machines can replicate style, they cannot replicate empathy,” Yong said.
He shared his personal conviction: “As a poet myself, I have attempted to use generative AI. While the result is impressive, I still feel that there is inherently something precious in human endeavors, the organic originality of crafting something by human hands or mind.”
Liu’s keynote, “The Future of Art in the Age of AI,” provided the philosophical framework, arguing that any art form prioritizing the copying of an external original risks mechanical devaluation, compelling human artists to focus instead on revealing new truths.
Liu proposed that AI, by providing a baseline “consensus translation” or serving as a “Desire Fulfillment Machine,” highlights the distinct, interpretive value of human creators. AI can help a creator realize a single, uncompromising vision without the negotiation of human collaboration.
Meanwhile, it diversifies the creative landscape, offering readers both custom-fit, predictable narratives and the surprising, unexpected works of human writers.
Liu sees AI not as a replacement, but as a catalyst. By automating crafts focused purely on replication, AI forces human artists to refocus on originality and creating new truths.
The machine compels a fundamental reassessment of artistic value: to prioritize collaboration, subjective interpretation, and revealing hidden aspects of reality over mere mechanical precision.
The critical discourse was anchored by the highly demanded keynote, “R.F. Kuang – Beyond the Ivory Tower,” where the acclaimed author delivered a stark analysis of the crisis facing US higher education. She argued that the literary fascination with “Dark Academia” is painfully ironic given the reality of federal divestment, resulting in widespread financial strain, staff layoffs, and department closures.
Kuang systematically dismantled three pervasive myths: that academic credentials guarantee upward socioeconomic mobility (noting tuition jumped over 1,300% since 1978), that the system operates on meritocracy, and that universities serve as political sanctuaries, stressing that institutions historically align with state power, not resistance.
Despite this grim diagnosis of a collapsing system entrenched in inequality, Kuang pivoted to a hopeful vision for reconstruction.
Kuang proposed five conceptual solutions, including advocating for massive government investment to stabilize the academic labor market, actively breaking down the academic contempt for “popular” research, and fully embracing the internet to move educational access from a scarcity model to one of abundance.
Kuang’s call was for a profound cultural shift that normalizes lifelong learning and physically integrates campuses into the wider community, prioritizing accessibility and sustained effort over elitist nostalgia.
SWF solidified its commitment to multilingual programming (Chinese, Malay and Tamil), viewing it as essential to fostering an “inclusive future.”
“What we hope to do is not just present literature in multiple languages, but to create genuine exchanges,” Yong said. This year, the festival provided live interpretation for selected Chinese, Malay and Tamil programs to break language barriers.
“To me, this is what an ‘inclusive future’ looks like — one where stories travel freely between languages, where literature becomes a bridge rather than a boundary,” Yong said.
The Sci-fi Spotlight consciously explored future narratives rooted in Sinophone and Asian cultural perspectives. Yong noted that while Western sci-fi is often dominated by the lone hero, “Asia carries a different inheritance like interdependence, cyclical time, and the respect for the unseen.” He found it especially interesting “how they inject tenets of Taoism into their works,” expanding the imaginative geography beyond dominant frameworks.
The festival concluded with the popular debate, “This House Believes That Robots Are Our Friends,” a playful approach to profound questions about human reliance on technology.
Yong expressed hope that attendees would draw strength and optimism from the exchange. He summarized the festival’s enduring message with a Chinese proverb, “There is always a way out of any sticky situation” (天無絕人之路).
(Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
