A surprising confession from the winner of a prestigious literary award. He did it on purpose

On Wednesday, the day after receiving the Goncourt Prize for the novel "L'Inconnue du quai de Javel" ("The Stranger from the Quai de Javel"), Philippe Jaenada appeared on France Inter radio. The writer openly admitted that he used artificial intelligence three times while working on the book. As he explained, he used AI primarily for technical documentation.

I think you can't deny AI, you can't pretend it doesn't exist. We have to use it, we have to acknowledge it, we have to tame it and not let it replace us, said Jaenada.

One sentence generated by AI

The author revealed that one of the uses of AI was to introduce one sentence generated by artificial intelligence into the novel. As he emphasized, he did it on purpose to "have fun with the reader." Only the jurors of the Goncourt Prize know which sentence this is.

The third time Jaenada reached for AI was to - as he himself admitted - "make fun of ChatGPT, which provides completely absurd answers regarding technical data."

"The Stranger from the Quai de Javel" - a literary investigation into the death of Louise Cansot

Jaenada's award-winning novel is a literary investigation into the death of Louise Cansot, a model popular among post-war painters from Montparnasse, Paris. The author returns to the unsolved crime mystery, combining classic narrative with modern tools.

In recent months, the case of Canadian-Haitian writer Thelyson Orelien has been much talked about in France. His novel "C'etait ca ou mourir" ("Either this or death"), initially praised by critics, was withdrawn from selection for the Goncourt Prize after accusations that it was written almost entirely by AI.