An increasingly blurred boundary separates human ingenuity from artificial intelligence in the field of literature. Rie Kudan, a talented Japanese writer, broke this boundary by integrating AI into the writing of her acclaimed novel “The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy”. This innovative choice, revealed following her victory in the Akutagawa Award, has opened a new era of debate and possibility, challenging traditional perceptions of creativity and originality.
“Woven” novel: AI in literature
Rie Kuda's announcement ("ChatGPT allowed me to make the most of my inspiration") has shined a light on a topic that seems to have come out of the pages of a story by my beloved Dino Buzzati. The novel by the 33-year-old Japanese girl has in turn become a character in another novel, written by many hands on the sheet of reality.
The microcosm of a broader debate on the role of AI in modern society. After all, according to many, it is almost an "open secret". Is it the first novel written in "collaboration" with artificial intelligence to win such an important prize (it has been awarded for almost 90 years) or is it the first made known?
Artificial intelligence as a muse
Kudan's use of ChatGPT is not a simple technological exercise, but represents a new form of creative symbiosis. The writer describes her process as a dialogue, in which the AI not only provides words, but also inspiration, pushing the boundaries of her imagination beyond conventional human barriers.
This approach overturns the traditional idea of AI as a tool, transforming it into a travel companion on the creative path. It is what many hope for, and many fear: it is the reflection of a different relationship, of a real exchange. Of a compromise, whatever meaning you want to give to the term.
A novel between admiration and controversy
Like any pioneering step, of course, the (declared) use of AI in literature has unleashed a firestorm of opinion. While some see Kudan as a visionary who has been able to embrace the future, others question the meaning of originality and authenticity in the digital age. Reactions range from enthusiastic curiosity to severe criticism, reflecting a wide range of feelings and positions in the literary field and beyond.
At the center of the debate is a fundamental question, already heard about generative AI for photos and images. Which? This: what makes a work of art authentically human? The contribution of AI to Kudan's work raises questions about the boundary between human and machine-assisted creation.
This is not only an ethical dilemma, but also touches on legal and moral aspects. Especially when we consider the recent ones lawsuits feared by authors such as George RR Martin, Jodi Picoult and John Grisham against OpenAI, accused of having drawn on works covered by copyright to train its language model.
And so, is “inspiration” from ChatGPT inspiration, or is it the quintessence of plagiarism?
AI as a mirror of the soul
Kudan's story, however, goes beyond simple AI-assisted writing. He reveals how artificial intelligence can become a tool to explore the very depths of the human soul. The writer used ChatGPT as a personal diary, a silent confidant who helped shape her main character's feelings and thoughts.
In this way, says the author (or co-author?) the AI took on an almost psychological role, acting as a mirror for her internal reflections then sublimated in the writing of the novel. And then, “about 5%,” Kudan points out, “was written directly from ChatGPT, word for word.”
Towards a new literary horizon
The case of Rie Kudan could just be the beginning of a new era in literature, in which authors explore new creative frontiers thanks to AI. This collaboration between man and machine could pave the way for new forms of storytelling, in which the fusion of human creativity and computational power generates stories that could previously only be imagined.
The story of Rie Kudan and her novel “The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy” is not just the chronicle of a singular literary success. It is an invitation to a broader dialogue on the nature of art, innovation and the human being in the age of artificial intelligence.
