Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.yahoo.com
A new literary prize rewarding work with artificial intelligence (AI) has been launched in France.
Anyone – regardless of literary experience or nationality – can submit a work written with the help of AI by the end of November, according to information published on the Prix Pascal (Pascal Prize) website.
The condition for entry is that the text must be unpublished and written in French.
The prize is named after mathematician, physicist, philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal (1623-62), author of the collection of sayings “Pensées” (Thoughts), who invented a mechanical calculator. “He is the only Western thinker to have been both a pioneer of machinery and a master of language,” the prize’s website said.
The competition has been running since Tuesday.
The question of just how much artificial intelligence literature can tolerate has recently sparked increasing debate within the book industry.
In September, a novel by the Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien suspected of being written using AI was eliminated from the running for the prestigious French literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.
Orélien’s Canadian publisher has now terminated its working relationship with the author, saying new findings have reinforced the suspicion that AI was involved in the novel’s writing process. Orélien told the French newspaper Libération that he had used AI only for research purposes.
A jury will select the 10 finalists at the end of November, with the prize awarded in early December. The winner will receive not only prize money but also the publication of their work and media exposure.
