Three tech entrepreneurs in France on Wednesday unveiled what they claim is the world’s first literary prize exclusively for books written with artificial intelligence.
Named the Prix Pascal, the award currently has neither a jury nor declared prize money, but is intended to challenge traditional literary prizes still grappling with how to regulate AI use by authors.
“The prize is open to anyone who writes in French, anywhere in the French-speaking world, with no requirement of nationality or residence, and without a publisher,” said organisers Philippe Rodriguez, Albin Serviant and Gilles Mentre in a statement.
“Only the work itself matters: an unpublished work of fiction, in French, co-written with an artificial intelligence, that dares to do what has never been read before,” they added.
The announcement comes amid growing controversy in France’s literary scene. Top-selling debut novelist Thelyson Orelien was recently accused of using AI to write his book It was Either That or Die. The novel won the FNAC prize in early September before he was ejected from the shortlist for the Goncourt, France’s top literary prize.
After weeks of denials, Orelien’s original Canadian publisher, Boreal, confirmed on Wednesday that he had used artificial intelligence in the writing process.
While some initiatives are emerging to label books as purely human-written and established prizes are rewriting rules to exclude AI-generated submissions, the issue raises complex questions. Will authors be allowed to use tools such as ChatGPT or Claude for research or advice? When does AI-assisted work become AI writing?
Submissions for the inaugural Prix Pascal will be accepted until November 30, with the winner to be announced in mid-December.
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