Richard So Charts New Territories in Digital Humanities

For Richard Jean So, joining Duke was the obvious choice. The associate professor of English and Rhodes Chair in Digital Humanities was drawn to the university’s strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and discovery. “Digital humanities is still a relatively new field,” So explains. “For Duke to invest in an area that many of its peer institutions are approaching with caution shows real boldness — Duke just feels ahead of the curve to me.”  

That same forward-looking spirit is reflected in So’s own research. While generative AI has become commonplace in our lives with creating fluent, human-like text and language, So points to a new area of research starting to gain attention: cultural, or humanistic, AI.  

“We’re moving into a new phase of artificial intelligence,” he explains, “where the question isn’t whether AI can generate language but rather, can it reason like a human, can it interpret a poem, can it analyze a painting? For scholars in the humanities, that question is compelling — can AI be creative?” 

So explains that some scholars even argue that AI is becoming deeply humanist because it is trying to reason like we do, in complex and nuanced ways. “The humanities articulate the most difficult, defining aspects of what makes a human a human, and that convergence of humanities and AI is exactly where my work comes in.”  

Part of his work involves collaboration across disciplines to develop tools that will make AI useful for humanists, aligning the technology with our interests and values rather than treating it as an alien or threatening. The other part is more experimental: rigorously testing, often through quantitative methods, how well AI can take on tasks traditionally occurring  in the humanities realm. 

For example, So is currently collaborating with a computer scientist at the University of Chicago to test AI in two ways. First, comparing the results of an AI model’s close readings to those of humans. Second, by examining how AI tools can enhance an individual’s ability to perform humanistic tasks, such as close reading of texts.  

So believes that his research isn’t just about what AI can do versus what humans can do. “The more exciting frontier is co-intelligence: how humans and AI can work together to enhance human creativity and understanding,” he shares. “The future isn’t about replacing humans with machines; it’s about learning how to collaborate with them — but before we get there, we need to carefully research to understand how that collaboration actually works.” 

While So leans toward trying to understand the opportunities of this technology, he approaches his research with a healthy amount of skepticism. “While I’m not a blind optimist, I do understand that the end goal is to make AI systems that are able to respond to what humans need.”  

That balance of skepticism and openness also shapes his teaching. While many undergraduates come to English because they value art, culture and the human experience over technology, So wants students to see how these can be studied together. This way, they remain critical while also gaining the literacy to understand and engage with systems like algorithms and AI — tools that may be oppressive in some ways, but ones they can also learn to navigate and shape.  

“My goal is for students to leave class not fearful of AI, but empowered and confident in their ability to understand it, question it and even influence its future.” 

In addition to So, the English department is welcoming two additional faculty members, Marguerite Nguyen and Timothy Heimlich.