Literary Prize Winner Accused of Writing with AI to Secure Top Prize

A literary prize-winner has been accused of using AI to create his work.

Jamir Nazir was awarded the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, securing £2,500 and the publication of his tale in Granta, the literary magazine.

However, there are concerns that the Trinidadian writer used AI to help produce his story, while some AI-detecting programs have flagged it was entirely computer-generated.

Concerned readers have shared results of their own AI-detection tests online, and Granta’s editorial team has since scanned the story and concluded that it was “almost certainly not produced unaided by a human”.

Mr Nazir has been contacted for comment on his short story, The Serpent in the Grove, which the Commonwealth prize hailed as “a haunting story of poverty, betrayal and survival in rural Trinidad”.

Jamir Nazir was awarded the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for The Serpent in the Grove

Judges hailed The Serpent in the Grove as ‘a haunting story of poverty, betrayal and survival in rural Trinidad’

The story is written in indistinct, prose-poetic language and the only discernible action is an incident in which a woman falls down a well.

Sentences include “hard living lays itself on a man like wet sacking; it never asks permission”, which suggests that a sackcloth can give permission, and “laughter can cut a hush, not cure it”, which implies that silences can be “cured”.

Other sentences are attempts at aphorism that appear nonsensical, such as “doing is a treacherous bridge: you step on and it carries you to a side you didn’t plan to reach”.

This suggests that one would step on to a bridge without being aware of what was on the other side, and that the structure “carries” people across.

Other aperçus include “first good rain after dry is a forgiveness the sky gives itself” and “if grace is near and hands hold, something breathing comes up”.

The story was named as the winner for the Caribbean region by judges of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, chaired by Louise Doughty, an English novelist.

The judge for the Caribbean region, Sharma Taylor, a Jamaican author and former shortlisted story writer, commented that the tale was “polished and confident, with a melodic voice that lingers long after the final line”.

One of the regional winners will be chosen to receive the overall prize, worth £5,000, which is provided by the competition overseer, the Commonwealth Foundation, a civil society organisation funded by member states.

Despite the concerns about Mr Nazir’s short story, the Commonwealth Foundation is standing by the work, although it has admitted that the prize does not test for the use of AI.

The Foundation also defended the discernment of its judges, stating: “We place our confidence in the integrity of our contributors and the calibre and experience of the judges and Chair of the Judging panel, and stand by the assurances given by our authors as part of our process.”

The statement questioned the use of AI to detect AI, adding: “While we acknowledge there are a growing number of tools that purport to detect the use of generative AI in stories, we note that these tools are not unfailing or infallible.

“We therefore believe it is important to acknowledge and uphold the trust we hold with our writers. Unlike AI tools, they can provide background to the crafting of their stories, and the inspiration and motivations behind their work.”

Mr Nazir’s entry has nevertheless been assessed by Granta, which conducted tests by feeding the story into Claude, an AI program, after questions were raised about the quality of the writing. This concluded that it was produced using AI.

A spokesman for Granta said: “We are alarmed by the speculation that one of this year’s five winning stories, Jamir Nazir’s ‘The Serpent in the Grove’, may have been AI-generated.

“Granta editors were not involved with these stories or their selection beyond copy-editing them upon receipt. While the Commonwealth Foundation is still determining whether the story was written by AI, we will keep the story on our website.”

Mr Nazir has a limited online profile, but his Facebook page does state that he is a writer.

He has shared some prose online which, once put in an AI detector, appear to be entirely computer-generated.

Mr Nazir released a poetry collection in 2017 titled Night Moon Love: Poems For All Who Have Loved Or Dreamed Of Love, the blurb of which declares: “The poems that are contained between these covers, depict the essence that springs from the very heart of love’s virgin ember.”

This blurb also appears to contain questionable grammar, including the statement that love is “greatest gift endowed to mankind”.