Prix Goncourt Winner Philippe Jaenada Admits Using Artificial Intelligence

Philippe Jaenada won France's top literary award on Tuesday, then told French radio that he used artificial intelligence while writing his winning book. His admission follows the recent removal of another author's book over similar allegations.

Jaenada won the Prix Goncourt for his true-crime novel *L'Inconnue du quai de Javel* (*The Unknown Woman of the Quai de Javel*). The book investigates the 1949 murder of Louise Cansot, a 29-year-old artists' model in Paris.

On Wednesday, Jaenada told France Inter radio that he turned to ChatGPT three times during the writing process. He stated that he used it to research, to mock the software for giving absurd answers about a technical detail, and to "play with the reader" by slipping in a single AI-generated sentence. He revealed that specific sentence only to the Goncourt jurors on the day of the award.

Jaenada, who is 62, defended his actions by saying artificial intelligence cannot be ignored. He argued that writers must acknowledge and tame the technology to make it useful, comparing its use to a film director employing special effects. However, he insisted that artificial intelligence will never be able to write a book with heart, soul, or memories.

His comments arrive just a day after the Académie Goncourt removed another book from its longlist over suspected artificial intelligence use. In September, the academy dropped *C'était ça ou mourir* (*It Was That or Die*) by the Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien. That decision followed claims from an online account that used detection software to argue the book was mostly machine-generated, alongside separate allegations of plagiarism.

Orélien denied using artificial intelligence and called the claims slander, but his Canadian publisher later ended its relationship with him after finding evidence that AI was used. Online critics have since pointed out a double standard in the public reaction. They noted that while Orélien faced severe backlash and lost his publisher, Jaenada faced no banishment or media lynching after admitting his own use of the technology.

Summary

The winner of France's most prestigious literary prize has acknowledged using artificial intelligence in his book, raising questions about industry standards just weeks after another nominee was disqualified over similar technology concerns.