Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk criticized after revealing she uses artificial intelligence to develop ideas | World News

Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature, has found herself at the center of the artificial intelligence debate after remarks she made at Impact’26 in Poznan were widely interpreted as an admission that she used artificial intelligence in her writing process. In her speech, she described artificial intelligence as a tool that can broaden creative thinking and help develop ideas. She also warned that the technology could produce factual errors. What started as a discussion about creativity and technology quickly turned into a heated debate about the future of literature and the role of artificial intelligence in works of art. Tokarczuk later issued a clarification that her upcoming novel was not written using artificial intelligence and that she primarily used the technology for brainstorming, developing ideas, preliminary research, and fact-checking.

Tokarczuk on using artificial intelligence

Tokarczuk said she purchased the “highest, most advanced version” of a language model and was often “deeply shocked” by how much it expanded her thinking, Poland Notes reported. She jokes that she sometimes throws ideas to the machine and asks, “Honey, how can we develop this beautifully?”At the same event, she said AI could help writers create a “symbiotic future” and could be an “incredible asset” in literary fiction.She also said that while writing her latest novel, to be published in Polish this fall, she asked the model what songs her characters might have danced to decades ago. Tokarczuk added that one of the suggestions included an incorrect name, which led her to warn users that “you must be careful about hallucinations.”

Why the comments sparked a backlash

Tokarczuk’s status as one of Poland’s most revered literary figures heightened this reaction. As a Nobel Prize winner, her comments carry far more weight than a casual interview. The remarks drew criticism from online commentators and some Polish writers, Polish Notes reported.One of the strongest responses came from novelist Szczepan Twardoch, another speaker at Impact’26. He posted on Facebook that he would have to “lose his mind” if he were to use language models in literature. He also compared forming a relationship with a language model to being “married to a vibrator.”

Tokarczuk’s clarification

Following the backlash, Tokarczuk issued a statement through her publisher and Lit Hub, saying her comments had been “misinterpreted.” She made it clear that she is not using artificial intelligence or working with anyone else to write her upcoming book, and that she has been writing alone for decades.She added that she uses artificial intelligence “as a tool to record and check facts more quickly,” and said she verifies information every time she uses it. Tokarczuk also emphasized that, apart from “faster preliminary research,” none of her texts, including the novel to be published later this year, were not written using artificial intelligence.This clarification shifts the debate away from claims that AI writes novels and toward a broader question: How much help should writers get from generative AI tools?

wider literary debate

The controversy reflects a larger debate in the publishing world. Some writers view AI as a research aid and brainstorming tool. Others even consider limited use a threat to authorship and artistic integrity.Tokarczuk’s comments struck a nerve because she sees AI as useful for creativity while still defending traditional literature as a deeply human craft. In the same speech, she expressed her sadness at the passing of the era of solitary writing and her disbelief that chatbots could compete with real literary voices.Meanwhile, writer Ziemowit Szczerek defended Tokarczuk and criticized the “moral outrage” surrounding her remarks. He argued that she should be free to try artificial intelligence if she wanted to.Tokarczuk’s episode shows that nuance can quickly disappear once AI enters the conversation.