Zimbabwean author denies using AI for prize-winning story

Summarised from BBC World's report · Updated 14 Oct, 03:14 · Archive

Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using artificial intelligence to write his short story, which won this year's Caine Prize for African Writing. The £10,000 award was announced a week before the accusation emerged. The Atlantic published an article stating that AI-detection software Pangram had indicated his work about a boy whose family falls on hard times was entirely AI-generated. Kundizeza posted on X: 'For the avoidance of doubt, I wrote The Blue Fighter.'

The accusation has caused an uproar on social media. Caine Prize chair Ellah Wakatama told the BBC she was shocked that The Atlantic had not waited for a full investigation before publishing. 'I do wish The Atlantic had spent more time investigating this so that alongside Pangram, they did have evidence of real human investigation of it before tainting the prize and tainting this winner,' she said. The row follows similar allegations made against winners of other literary prizes this year, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and France's Goncourt Prize.

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• Zimbabwean author denies using AI to write award-winning storySimbarashe Kundizeza was responding to an accusation that has caused an uproar on social media.BBC World · 14 Oct, 00:31

In this story: Simbarashe Kundizeza · Caine Prize for African Writing · The Atlantic · Ellah Wakatama · Zimbabwe

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