Author Denies Using AI for Award-Winning French Novel

Author Denies Using AI for Award-Winning French Novel

The novel C'était ça ou mourir ('It was that or die'), by Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien, has won the Fnac prize and is nominated for the Goncourt. It's the book of the moment in France. And since Monday, September 21st, it has faced an uncomfortable accusation: that it was written with artificial intelligence.

The AI Accusation Against Thélyson Orélien

The trigger is an account presenting itself as an exposer of indiscriminate AI use. According to its version, there would be no doubt that the author resorted to this technology to craft the work. The suspicion points to the style, not to published proof. The writer denies it and has responded to Libération.

The Defense: "Numerous Racist Attacks"

His central argument does not dispute paragraphs or patterns: it appeals to context. Orélien maintains that, since arriving in France, he has suffered numerous racist attacks, and frames the accusation within this hostility. It's a defense that shifts the focus from the text to the author. It doesn't answer the technical question—whether or not a tool was behind it—but rather who can afford to accuse whom.

Literary Prizes as a Minefield

The case exposes a larger sustancia ilegal: competitions have no protocol for detecting AI, and the detectors themselves are unreliable. One current of thought holds that AI should be reserved for entertainment and not used to cheat in contests; another responds that if the book is already a success, the controversy is too late and doesn't take the prize away from anyone. In the meantime, each accusation of algorithmic writing becomes a sarracena judgment about who deserves to publish.

Underlying it all is the usual story: a French bestseller, a migrant author, and a machine singled out as suspicious. No one has proven anything yet. The book continues to sell.