The Worst Thing About AI Writing
His first novel, Le devoir de violence, which traces the rise and fall of an African dynasty across centuries, was a best seller and won the Prix Renaudot, France’s second-most-prestigious literary prize.
Key points
- It’s much less stylish and thought-provoking than Bound to Violence, but it became a best seller in France; won the Prix du Roman Fnac, the first major award of the rentrée; and was in the running for the Renaudot and the even more prestigious Prix Goncourt.
- Then, on September 21—the same day that Orélien won the Fnac—a small, anonymous account on X posted an analysis of several chapters of the novel by the AI-detection tool Pangram, which claimed that 100 percent of the text analyzed was written by AI.
- Late last month, the Quebecois publisher of Orélien’s book announced that he had in fact used AI, despite his denials, and ended their relationship; his French publisher, Éditions Grasset, continues to sell the book.
The book continued to be celebrated until 1972, when the Times Literary Supplement published an extract of Le devoir de violence —in English, “Bound to Violence”—alongside a remarkably similar passage from Graham Greene ’s 1934 novel, It’s a Battlefield.
Additional details
- Several commentators, for example, attacked Orélien’s command of the French language, suggesting that he lacked the ability to write his own work—a malevolent criticism that has long been marshaled against Black writers in France, including Ouologuem.
- S amuel Fitoussi, a young columnist for Le Figaro who is known for satirical columns that often target progressive ideals, is a member of the group behind Balance ton Claude, the X account that first alleged that Orélien had used AI.
- Although some of Orélien’s detractors voiced an earnest interest in authorial integrity, anyone following the online backlash against him could see that some of it was tinged with racism.
- Soon afterward, the newsmagazine Le Point reported on several instances of alleged plagiarism in Orélien’s early work, which the author later admitted to and apologized for.
- Given that certain scene descriptions and dialogue appeared nearly word-for-word in each novel, Ouologuem’s astonishing debut seemed at least partially plagiarized.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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