French Goncourt academy pulls AI-accused novel from prize longlist

The Académie Goncourt has withdrawn a novel by Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien from its longlist over plagiarism and allegations the book was largely written by AI.

• The Académie Goncourt said Friday it removed Orélien's novel from its longlist, citing plagiarism and analyses suggesting it was largely AI-generated.
• The accusations emerged on X on 21 September, the day the novel won the Fnac prize, via an anonymous account using AI detection software.
• Orélien denied the allegations, calling them racially motivated and saying he saw no reason to use a machine.
• The Goncourt academy will publish its shortlist on 6 October and announce the prize winner on 4 November.