Literary World Once Insisted on Human-Written Novels... Now Comes an Award for AI-Written Novels

A Literary Prize for AI Co-Written Works Launched in France
The Literary World Is Divided Over the Use of AI

As a writer was dropped from the shortlist for France's most prestigious literary award over allegations that he used artificial intelligence (AI) to write a novel and parted ways with his publisher, a literary prize for works co-written with AI has emerged in France. As controversy over the authenticity and ethics of AI-assisted creative work intensifies, efforts to recognize AI as a new literary tool are also gaining momentum.

Earlier, 38-year-old Haitian-Canadian writer Télisson Orelien was named to the first-round shortlist for France's most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, in September for his debut novel, "It Was That or Death." Reuters-Yonhap News

According to French daily Le Figaro on October 21, the Prix Pascal, a new literary prize for works co-written with AI, has been established in France. Organizers describe it as a new prize that recognizes works created through collaboration between humans and AI. Anyone who writes a work in French may enter, regardless of nationality or place of residence, even if they are not a professional writer.

The prize is drawing attention as it coincides with what has become known as the "Telisson Orellien case," which recently rocked France's literary world. Haitian-Canadian writer Telisson Orellien, 38, was named to the first-round shortlist for the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary award, last September for his debut novel, "C'etait ca ou mourir" ("It Was That or Die").

AI Writing Traces Lead to Split With Publisher

The novel, which deals with immigration and identity, attracted attention after being shortlisted for major French literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt, Prix Femina, Prix Renaudot and Prix Médicis. Translations were also scheduled to be published in more than 20 countries. The controversy began last month when a social media user analyzed the novel using the AI text-detection program Pangram and alleged that it was likely to contain AI-generated text.

Debates are expected to intensify over how far works created with the help of AI should be recognized as human creations, and whether works co-written with AI can receive the same recognition as traditional literature.

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Orellien categorically denied the allegations. He said he began writing the novel in late 2017 and had completed a draft of more than 300 pages in 2019, before ChatGPT was introduced. He also explained that the repetitive style stemmed from the literary traditions of Haiti and the Caribbean. However, on September 25, the Prix Goncourt jury removed the novel from its shortlist. The jury emphasized the prize's purpose of promoting literature written by humans and cited the allegations of AI use and the author's past plagiarism issues among the reasons for its decision.

The controversy did not end there. On October 21, Canadian publisher Boreal announced that it was ending its working relationship with Orellien, saying it had obtained new evidence that AI was used in the writing of his novel. The publisher said it had collected working drafts of the novel and commissioned an independent specialist organization to analyze them, finding traces related to AI in the metadata of some documents. Boreal had supported the author's explanation as recently as a week earlier, but changed its position after further investigation uncovered evidence inconsistent with his previous claims. The publisher also decided to stop reprinting the novel and to publish no other works by Orellien in the future.

Applicants Must Submit Manuscript and AI Model Used...Plans to Publish Winning Work

At a time when the question of AI use can determine a writer's eligibility for literary prize shortlists and even publishing contracts, the Prix Pascal has taken the opposite approach. Rather than banning or concealing AI use, the prize makes co-writing with AI a requirement for entry. Applicants must submit a completed novel manuscript along with the prompts they entered into the AI, the type of large language model (LLM) they used, and a technical document explaining how the work was generated.

The aim is to assess not only whether AI was used, but also how it was used and how it was combined with human creativity. The judging is expected to focus on the literary quality and creativity of the work, as well as novel ways of using AI. In particular, the judges will look at whether the work employs forms and expressions rarely seen in conventional literature, and how collaboration between AI and humans has created a distinctive approach compared with existing creative methods.

In its official manifesto, the organizers outlined their aim to discover literature created with AI that tackles works people would find difficult to write alone and sheds new light on ecological, social and ethical issues. The prize is named after French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who invented the mechanical calculator and wrote "Pensées." The Prix Pascal's official website lists November 2 as the opening date for submissions. The organizers plan to select 10 finalists from entries received by November 30. The winner will be announced in early December, and the organizers also plan to publish the winning work.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.