Canadian publisher Les Éditions du Boréal has ended its professional relationship with novelist Thélyson Orélien after new information indicated that artificial intelligence was used in the writing of his novel C'était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That or Die).
The publisher confirmed the move on Wednesday, stating that "new information, confirmed over the past few days, indicates that artificial intelligence was used in the writing process" of the novel.
Orélien, who was withdrawn from France's Prix Goncourt list last month, has repeatedly denied using AI to write the book. Last week, Boréal said it was standing by the 38-year-old writer, but a further investigation changed that position.
Investigation findings
Boréal said it did not know the extent of AI's use in the writing process "and we will likely never have a definitive answer." The publisher gathered all working versions of the novel and hired an outside party to analyse various drafts.
"The results obtained this week revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents," Boréal said.
Before conducting this analysis, the publisher said it had tried to work with Orélien to gather evidence necessary to prove his innocence. That effort was inconclusive, and Orélien "subsequently announced that he would not provide any further information," the publisher said.
Author's response
The novel about migration had been scheduled for translation in more than 20 countries. It was withdrawn from the Prix Goncourt list after tests with AI detector Pangram indicated a 100% probability it contained computer-generated text.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse earlier this month, Orélien called the allegations "slander and heresy." He said he used tools for research, particularly for foreign idioms, but "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 stood firm on Wednesday, telling the French newspaper Libération he used AI "in the creative process" for "historical research." He added, "I've explained everything to those close to me, but at the moment I don't think my words count for anything," and that what he is now experiencing has "gone way too far."
Background and plagiarism allegations
Orélien said he started writing the book in late 2017 "on the corner of a table" and completed a first draft in 2019 of more than 300 pages, several years before the advent of AI services such as ChatGPT. The author fled his native Haiti after a 2010 earthquake that struck the Caribbean island, already ravaged by poverty and unrest.
In response to separate allegations of plagiarism, Orélien admitted to making "unacceptable mistakes" in the past in his writing, without mentioning specifics. He wrote, "I was just over 20, I was probably a little too impatient, without really understanding how much I still had to learn. I wanted to write, I was reading a lot," and added, "But admiring someone does not give you the right to take, to claim as mine texts that are not my own."
Boréal's decision ends its professional relationship with Orélien, and the publisher has stated it will likely never have a definitive answer on the extent of AI's use in the novel's creation.
