Goncourt Academy removes novel from longlist over AI-use suspicions — Dawn

In France, the Goncourt Academy removed Canadian-Haitian writer Telison Aurelien's debut novel, It Was Either That or Die, from the longlist for the Prix Goncourt award. The decision was made after anonymous online claims that the book had allegedly been written with the help of artificial intelligence, Dawn reports.

The academy's position

The Goncourt Academy said that removing the novel was intended to preserve the integrity of the prize and the academy itself. According to it, the institution's key role is to promote and recognize literature written by humans.

The academy also said that several researchers and journalists it described as credible had drawn attention to the likely significant use of artificial intelligence in creating the work. At the same time, the source notes that conclusively proving the use of AI is difficult, as different detectors produce different results.

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The author's response and La Presse publication

The 38-year-old Aurelien denied using artificial intelligence to write the novel. He suggested that the campaign against him could be racially motivated and was an attempt to silence him. The writer also promised to provide materials that, he said, would confirm his authorship.

The author's reputation was also affected by a publication by the Montreal outlet La Presse. The newspaper reported that a column written by Aurelien in 2013 was almost entirely a lightly edited translation of an article published by The Philippine Star several days earlier.