Canadian author accused of using AI to write book:Dropped from race for France’s top literary prize, author says, ‘None of this existed in 2019’

Haitian author Thélison Orelien’s book has been disqualified from the race for France’s most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt. Orelien has been accused of using AI to write his book, It Was Either That or Die. The author has denied the allegation. He said he began work on the book in 2017 and completed the first draft in 2019. AI was not available to the general public at the time. However, the Goncourt Academy did not accept this explanation. The academy said investigations by researchers and journalists indicated that a significant part of the book had been written with the help of AI. It said it did not want to promote literature produced using AI-generated content in any form. Controversy began with a social media post The controversy over Orelian’s book began with a small, anonymous social media account. Samuel Fitoussi, a writer for French newspaper Le Figaro, later admitted that he ran the account. Fitoussi said some users had asked him to examine Orelian’s book. He then checked it using Pangram, an AI-powered handwriting-recognition tool. He said the aim was not to target Orelian. He wanted to draw people’s attention to the fact that AI is now also being used to write books. Book examined with the help of three AI tools Orelian’s book was examined by three AI-detection tools and several experts. The assessments indicated that AI may have been used in the book. However, the experts also said that the results produced by such tools cannot be considered 100% accurate. Pangram – AI was likely used in 95% of the book. GPTZero – AI was likely used in 87% of the book. Winston – The likelihood of human writing in different sections ranged from 12% to 66%. French AI researcher Thierry Poibeau said that AI was likely used in the book, but this cannot yet be stated with complete certainty. The book is being widely discussed in France Aurelien’s book was already attracting attention in France. It tells the story of a high-school teacher who escapes a gang in Haiti. He then crosses the Darién Gap – a dangerous route through dense forests, hills and swamps – to reach the United States and then Canada. More than 54,000 copies of the book have been sold in just a few weeks. It received favourable reviews and was considered for several literary awards. Aurelien arrived in France this month to promote his book. The book was receiving a positive response there. He was being invited on television programmes, and the book was in the running for several major literary awards besides the Goncourt. Left Haiti after earthquake, moved to Canada Aurelien is 38 years old. He was born in the Haitian city of Gonaïves. His father was an accountant and his mother was a tailor. He left Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. More than 2 lakh people died in the earthquake, and his home was also destroyed. He then reached the Dominican Republic. From there, he applied for a visa to go to Canada, but his first application was rejected. After this, a Quebec consular official, seeing his situation, gave him 30 days to prove that his family in Canada could support him financially. His uncle sent the necessary documents, after which the way was cleared for him to go to Canada.