11/08/2026
Instead of banning generative AI from his classroom, UP professor emeritus and Philippine literature titan Jose “Butch” Dalisay Jr. is bringing it into his writing course—“to see what it does and what we can do differently or better.”
In his Aug. 10 column, “Qwertyman No. 210: A Grand Experiment with AI,” Dalisay said he will use generative AI in his Creative Writing 198: Special Topics (Professional Writing) class at the University of the Philippines Diliman this semester, which started Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The 72-year-old argued that the technology is not going away and “will keep getting smarter,” with young people likely to use it “with neither guilt nor shame” in the years to come.
His plan is straightforward: students will do in-class writing “to establish benchmarks,” after which they will ask AI to produce its own version of the same work.
The AI version “won’t be the standard by which papers will be scored,” Dalisay said, although it might be “superior in some mechanical ways like grammar and spelling.” Instead, the class will examine how AI “shapes its arguments” compared with how students approach a topic and present examples.
Dalisay said the class will put a premium on original thinking and individuality, “focusing not so much on ‘getting it right’ and more on ‘making it mine.’”
In sharing his column on Facebook, Dalisay didn’t mince words, saying that “ignoring or banning AI outright” would be “stupid and futile.”
The approach comes as Philippine universities take different positions on generative AI. The University of Santo Tomas recently added AI to its academic-integrity rules, requiring students to use the technology responsibly alongside plagiarism and grammar-checking tools, although its updated provision does not specify which uses of AI constitute violations.
Meanwhile, Mapúa Malayan Digital College has taken a more integration-focused approach, building AI fluency into its curriculum to prepare students for workplaces where the technology is increasingly used.
Dalisay designed CW 198 and first taught it more than 20 years ago to give English, literature, and creative writing majors the “practical writing skills they hardly learn in school,” including application letters, news reports, feature stories, brochures, speeches, audio-visual scripts, and interviews.
Now, he is using the course to confront a question facing educators: how to teach writing in the age of AI.
“The last time I taught CW 198, AI was still something of a joke,” Dalisay wrote. “I do recall, however, saying even then that AI was bound to catch up in time. That time has come, and we’re no longer laughing.”
Dalisay admitted he “frankly” doesn’t know “how this will all work out.” For now, he is willing to find out with his students.
Dalisay’s work spans fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and screenwriting. His writing has earned him multiple recognitions, including the Palanca Hall of Fame, a shortlist spot for Hong Kong’s Man Asian Literary Prize, Italy’s Premio Cervara di Roma, National Book Awards, the Ten Outstanding Young Men award, and several Cultural Center of the Philippines awards.
Beyond literature, he has also worked as a presidential speechwriter and biographer.
(✍️: Nikko Miguel Garcia)
