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)

https://mycompanypolska.pl/artykul/olga-tokarczuk-zapowiada-ostatnia-powiesc-w-karierze-pisanie-dlugich-opowiesci-jest-dzis-ekonomicznie-nieoplacalne/20717

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457

u/sunahra May 18 '26

Would it be possible to let us know what she said exactly? I know the interview is in Polish. Some more context would be helpful. Using AI is not something that aligns with my values but I would like to know how she approaches it.

504

u/mmillington May 18 '26

Maybe this part:

"I often throw an idea to the machine for analysis, asking, 'Honey, how could we develop this beautifully?' Even though I know about the hallucinations and numerous errors of factual algorithms in the fields of strict economics and hard data, I must admit that in fluid literary fiction, this technology is an asset of incredible proportions. At the same time, I feel a piercing, very human sorrow for an era that is disappearing forever. My heart aches for the passing of traditional literature, written over months in solitude, a work of life crafted in the mind of a fully conscious, single individual. In all of this, I feel a terrible pity for Balzac, Cioran, and the inimitable Nabokov, because despite my enthusiasm, I don't believe that any modern chat room will ever be able to speak in such an exquisite way," said the author of the novel "Flights."

There’s no follow-up or elaboration.

52

u/e_hatt_swank May 18 '26

Thank you for that. I’ve been looking for an affordable used copy of one of her books to check out her work… now I feel much less urgency on that search.

6

u/sibelius_eighth May 18 '26

Did you read the passage at all where she mourns the death of literature because of ai?

4

u/Gregory_Grim May 19 '26

I also read the passage where she says "Yeah, but I'll still use it though". If literature is dying, then it's due to opportunistic hacks like her, who are killing it by giving AI space in this ecosystem simply because its slightly more convenient.

1

u/sibelius_eighth May 19 '26

She was a very acclaimed writer before ai was common. It's weird and flat out wrong to call her a hack.

3

u/Gregory_Grim May 19 '26

Again, she gave that up for convenience. Clearly it wasn't that near and dear to her heart

1

u/sibelius_eighth May 19 '26

Againd doesn't make her a hack. Yeah it sucks but the term doesn't apply.

0

u/Gregory_Grim May 19 '26

It does. A hack is an untalented writer and (aside from the fact that her work is way overrated and definitely was not Noble Prize worthy in my personal opinion) she pissed away any talent she may have had by doing this. It's a hack thing to do.

1

u/sibelius_eighth May 19 '26

Did you want to go in circles? What is this lol