"Darling, how can we beautifully develop this storyline?" - Tokarczuk's Controversial Approach to AI in Literature
Updated: Jun 14
During the Impact'26 conference in Poznań (Poland), Olga Tokarczuk (who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018) sparked controversy due to her comments about Artificial Intelligence.
The author stated that she is fascinated by the technological advancement and said that she even "bought the premium version of the language model" as it "fantastically expands horizons and deepens creative thinking." She added that as a part of her creative process, she runs her writing through AI and asks it to suggest possible plot developments by asking it "Darling, how can we develop this storyline?"
This initiated a debate among literature lovers across the globe. Some argued that we should expect more from a Literature Nobel Prize winner. The readers disliked how she personified the language model by referring to it as "darling" and raised concerns over sympathising with the very threat to the profession of a writer. Some are worried about the possibility of the author's upcoming autumn release being written with the help of AI.
Tokarczuk released a statement correcting her previous declaration and claimed that "like any other conversation, remarks made before a live audience at a public event can be incorrectly understood." She clarified that her forthcoming book has been written without any assistance and that she treats AI "as a tool that allows faster documenting and checking of facts." On another occasion, she stated that her heart "aches for the passing of traditional literature, written for months in solitude, a life's work crafted in the mind of a fully conscious, single individual."
However, regardless of her explanations, the community stands polarised. Some cannot seem to forgive the Nobelist's relaxed attitude towards AI since research revealed that it uses real authors' writing to train its models and harms the income of more than a third of writers.
Without a doubt, the publishing industry is constantly being re-shaped due to the transformative power of AI. It's up to the authors to decide whether they will prioritise speed and convenience over creativity and artistic expression.