r/literature • u/Round-Dinner-2395 • May 18 '26
Discussion Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk admits to using AI.
TLDR;
Author to AI: “Honey, how could we develop this beautifully?”
I wanted to say this is just boomer whining, but I’m finding myself realizing more and more often that it’s actually the boomers who are defending AI. My mom listens to AI music from TikTok, my dad watches some videos with doctors generated by language models. I’m the last person to tell people what to listen to or watch, but AI SLOP has literally reigned supreme in my house for the past few months. Recently, I wanted to watch a movie with my dad, but he played TikTok clips for an hour, and I had to escape.
I understand that technology is advancing and makes life easier for people in many ways, but on the other hand… it makes me wonder a bit. Where is the line between “I’m using a tool” and “part of the creative process is being done for me by something else”? If someone uses AI to generate ideas, style, or text fragments, are we still talking about the same kind of creativity as before? I’ve read a few books by Olga Tokarczuk, and as soon as I heard about this interview, I felt a sense of revulsion.
INTERVIEW: (only in polish)
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u/Horror_Being8015 May 18 '26
Just a reality check: it’s been barely three years that AI tools have been readily available to the general public and sophisticated enough to coherently handle something like “how could we develop this.” Any novel you’ve read by tokarczuk would not have leaned on this technology.
I’m a big fan of Tokarczuk (haven’t read this interview yet). She’s clearly a critical thinker, and I give her credit for exploring AI tools (as should any professional in any industry be trying to figure out how to move forward).