“문학은 제품이 아니다”…중국 24개 문예지 ‘인공지능 거부’ 선언

Chinese literary magazines are united in a joint declaration opposing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in creating their works. This includes not only AI-generated full pieces, but also works where AI is used for writing, editing, and refining. According to a summary of Chinese media reports, 24 literary magazines from 12 provinces have signed a collective declaration titled "Preserve Creation and Reject AI."

The declaration was first publicly released last June under the name of the "National Literary Review Collaboration Declaration." As more media joined in, the list expanded to 24 magazines. While China is aggressively expanding AI applications across various fronts, the literary community has begun to resist AI encroachment. The declaration highlights the recent influx of "fake creations" generated by AI into magazines' submission pipelines.

Works modified slightly after AI creation, as well as those where AI assists in writing, editing, or refining, are considered violations of plagiarism and theft, depriving genuine authors of their platforms. Participating magazines pledge to blacklist any author whose works are confirmed as AI-generated and to share relevant information within their network.

The movement opposing AI-generated creation is spreading in China's literary scene. The China Writers' Association, which operates the China Writers Network, changed its rules in February to prohibit submissions of AI-generated or AI-assisted works. This applies not only to text generation but also to editing, expansion, and rewriting.

The magazine "Shanghai Literature" also reportedly requires writers to submit a "Original Work Declaration" stating they did not use AI in the creation or revision process of their submissions, starting this year. In China, determining the extent to which AI-generated works should be considered and how much disclosure of AI usage is required is a contentious issue.

Even renowned award-winning author Huo Jingfang admitted in June that about half of his new children's sci-fi novel "Star Academy" was generated by AI. This led to controversy, after which he clarified that only half of the sentences were his own, with AI merely assisting in the creative process. The 24 participating magazines plan to use editors' personal reviews and AI detection technology to judge submitted works.

However, there is uncertainty about whether AI-generated works can be accurately identified technically. The China Writers Network recently revealed cases where AI detection systems incorrectly identified works as AI-generated, even after the writers had made minor changes, raising concerns about over-reliance on detection results.