Uproar in France over award-winning author accused of using AI

Image source, Joel Saget / AFP via Getty Images Image caption, Thélyson Orélien has denied allegations he used AI in his work

The French book scene is in uproar after a Canadian-Haitian author billed as a sensation was accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to write his first novel.

Thélyson Orélien, 38, has just been awarded the Prix du Roman Fnac – the first of the literary season's prizes – for C'était ça ou mourir (It was either that or die).

He is also a finalist for the most prestigious annual French language awards, the Goncourt and the Renaudot, set to be issued soon.

But on Tuesday a little-known group called Balance ton Claude (Denounce your Claude, in reference to Anthropic's AI assistant) claimed the book was "almost totally" written by AI - a charge the author denied.