"Literature is an art that is, by nature, tenuous and fragile." Clément Bénech is a young writer who listens to his time. His latest novel, Un vrai dépaysement, (Flammarion), tells the story of a professor whose destiny is turned upside down by an algorithm. The opportunity to talk with him about the influence of new technologies on writing. This lover of the French language agreed to confide in Le Figaro and to indulge in our Proust questionnaire.
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Read the dossier"On the tip of the tongue": (re)discover the French language with our guests
THE FIGARO. - What do you think is the word that should be invented?
Clement BÉNECH. - In my opinion, we lack words to talk about friendly breakups. We know very well how to talk about breakups and we have a whole arsenal of vocabulary. But the friendly break leaves us a little on our hunger. Because perhaps, we have few examples in literature or cinema, and therefore, it makes us a little silent.
In Une essentiel fragilité, (Plein Jour), you describe the fragility of language as "essential". What for?
When I used the expression "essential fragility" of literature, which gave the essay its name, it was a double meaning of the word "essential", in the sense that we cannot do without it since my essay also tried to show that there was something unique in the way literature grasped reality. And at the same time "essential" with the meaning of that: which belongs to the essence of literature. Literature is an art that is, by nature, tenuous and fragile.
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Is artificial intelligence a danger to literature?
The appearance of artificial intelligence raises in us species of moral reflexes that are not necessarily bad in themselves. I think that if artificial intelligence is ever able to write masterpieces, I will be the first to savor them. There was the same question at the time of the emergence of photography. It was an art for donkeys, since anyone could do it at the push of a button. It may have taken decades for a photographic eye to form and an amateur eye that showed that it was not enough to press a button.
But there was still an art of staging. There was an art of framing. I sincerely believe that the same thing will happen with artificial intelligence. And besides, in the first results observed, even if they are impressive, we already see species of recurrences. That is to say, we already see a certain way of thinking that is not great, so to speak, which is still a kind of rehashing of what others have thought before.
» Discover the video to read the full interview with Clément Bénech.