Novelist Thelyson Orelien denies AI use, admits plagiarism 'mistakes'

Haitian-Canadian author Thelyson Orelien denied allegations of using artificial intelligence to write his acclaimed debut novel Cet était ca ou mourir, while admitting to past plagiarism mistakes. The 38-year-old's French-language novel about migration was suspected of being AI-generated by the AI detector Pangram, which concluded there was a 100% probability it contained computer-generated text.

This led to the book being pulled from the shortlist for France's prestigious Goncourt book prize. Orelien stated in a statement that he "slander and heresy" and affirmed that "not a single sentence in this book was created by a machine, nor the meaning or the structure of a story that comes from my gut." He admitted to using tools for research, particularly for foreign idioms, but stated that the book's content and structure originated from his own thoughts and experiences.

Orelien also acknowledged past plagiarism mistakes, expressing deep regret for his "unacceptable mistakes" and offering heartfelt apologies. The AI scandal surrounding Orelien is one of the most significant in the literary world, sparking debate about the ethics of AI use in novel writing and the reliability of AI detection apps.