Canada’s literary awards say publishers are in best position to sniff out AI

Canada’s prestigious literary awards largely depend on publishers to verify that the books they honor were written by humans and not by artificial intelligence. The executive directors of the Writers’ Trust and Giller Foundation have strict policies in place that exclude AI-written works from their esteemed awards. Elana Rabinovitch, who oversees the Giller Prize, emphasizes that publishing houses collaborate closely with their authors and are in a better position to ascertain whether they utilized generative AI compared to the award organizations themselves.

Meanwhile, the Canada Council for the Arts, which manages the Governor General’s Literary Awards, is currently developing a policy that outlines "clear expectations" regarding AI’s use in books under consideration for their prizes. Caroline Lussier, the director of arts promotion for the Council, anticipates that the policy will be finalized for the forthcoming competition cycle.

These statements follow a recent incident in France where one of the country’s leading literature prizes removed a Canadian author’s debut novel from its longlist due to allegations that he co-authored the book using generative AI, a claim he has vehemently denied. In response, Caroline Lussier of the Canada Council noted that they had already begun crafting their policy before the controversy arose and had previously published guidance on AI’s use in funded projects and during grant application reviews.

The Académie Goncourt officially announced on Friday the removal of Orélien’s novel, "C’était ça ou mourir," from the running for the Prix Goncourt due to allegations of AI-assisted writing and separate plagiarism allegations concerning his previous work. The author, Orélien, did not respond to requests for comment, stating he was focused on his health but had previously adamantly denied using AI to compose the novel.