Haitian-Canadian novelist denies using AI, but admits past plagiarism
Thélyson Orélien, author of the rentrée best-seller 'C'était ça ou mourir,' broke three weeks of silence to deny the book was written with artificial intelligence, while acknowledging he plagiarized other writers early in his career.
The Haitian-Canadian writer Thélyson Orélien has denied that his novel 'C'était ça ou mourir' (Grasset) was generated with artificial intelligence, in a text sent to the AFP and reported by Le Temps, Livres Hebdo, Télérama and Bibliobs on Tuesday. The book, one of the best-sellers of this year's rentrée littéraire in France, was earlier withdrawn from Goncourt consideration, according to El País.
The accusations began on 21 September, when the X account 'Balance ton Claude' alleged massive use of generative AI in writing the novel, according to Le Temps. 'On dit que «C'était ça ou mourir» a été rédigé par une intelligence artificielle. C'est une calomnie et une hérésie,' Orélien wrote, as quoted by Le Temps and Bibliobs. He said he had used tools here and there for research, particularly on foreign idioms, but that 'aucune phrase de ce livre n'a été créée par une machine.'
In the text, titled 'Ce roman que j'ai écrit,' the 38-year-old author said he began writing the novel 'à l'automne 2017, sur un coin de table' in Quebec, where he has lived since leaving Haiti in 2010, and finished a first draft in 2019, according to Le Temps. He offered no documentation to support the timeline.
Orélien also acknowledged, for the first time in detail, having 'commis des erreurs inacceptables' by plagiarizing recognized authors after arriving in Canada in his early twenties, and he apologized. He said he was 'un peu trop pressé' at the time and had not fully grasped how much he still had to learn, according to Bibliobs.
Despite the controversy, sales of 'C'était ça ou mourir' continue to rise, Livres Hebdo reported.
Sources
This article was written from these reports.
