Uproar in France over award-winning author accused of using AI
by harscoat on 9/25/2026, 10:48:32 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck7v4y45893go
Comments
by: _fw
I remain convinced the whole notion of AI-detection algorithms with any semblance of precision and accuracy is a con.<p>Critics say the author almost exclusively relied on AI to create his work, based on Pangram’s findings.<p>Pangram says it “is trained specifically to detect the latest AI models from frontier labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, DeepSeek, xAI, and more. [They] benchmark against 26 models (so far)…”.<p>I can probably list more than 26 models off the top of my head. Granted, some models have been distilled against others and will be “detectable” but that’s NOWHERE near a large enough sample size to be reliable in 2026.<p>You or I could get a flag by that detector in our first attempt, and it wouldn’t take long for a false positive against enough attempts of truly original thought either.<p>The only thing I’d actually believe is things like Claude’s text watermarking system. However, those systems will never be present for EVERY model, so reliable blanket detection remains an impossibility.<p>The entropy in written text of meaningful length is simply too great for detection to be reliably possible in 2026, especially considering the changes the author can make.
9/25/2026, 11:18:46 AM
by: jalev
This isn't the first high profile case of a black person being reported with accusations of using AI this year[^1][^2]. Once or twice, sure, whatever. But a third time now? It's hard to think this isn't anything but targeted, especially given this particular case the group making the "claims" are entirely anonymous.<p>Anyway, here's the thread from twitter if people are interested: <a href="https://x.com/Pangramed/status/2102383484027171306?s=20" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/Pangramed/status/2102383484027171306?s=20</a><p>[^1]: <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/jerry-falade-book-deal-ai-racism-b3050738.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/featu...</a><p>[^2]: <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/jason-arday-resignation-letter-ai-generated-ztdxbqhc9" rel="nofollow">https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/jason-arday-re...</a>
9/25/2026, 11:09:26 AM
by: _diyar
This story smells odd; why does anybody care about the accusations of an anonymous twitter account? A claim seemingly without evidence no less.
9/25/2026, 11:07:14 AM
by: breuleux
To give a bit more information:<p>* Media ran the entire novel through Pangram and got a 94% AI score [1], whereas all other Goncourt finalists, Haitian/African novels and French classics they tested came out as 100% human. I recall they also tested works specifically from before and after the AI boom and found a shift, but I don't remember where I saw that.<p>* People on social media, as well as traditional media, have then found cases of blatant plagiarism in Orelien's work a decade ago (this includes one prized short story and several posts to blogs and media) [2]<p>I think we have to be careful not to assume that tools like Pangram are completely accurate and the word of God, but we can't dismiss them outright, and this particular author's history of plagiarism makes it much harder to give him the benefit of doubt.<p>[1] (French) <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/fr/nouvelle/2286476/thelyson-orelien-pangram-test-roman-ia" rel="nofollow">https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/fr/nouvelle/2286476/thelyson...</a><p>[2] (French) <a href="https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/litterature/2026-09-23/thelyson-orelien-rattrape-par-un-passe-de-plagiaire.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/litterature/2026-09-23/thelyson...</a>
9/25/2026, 11:39:30 AM
by: Sytten
This was discussed a lot on the news here. Couple of authors feed their pre AI books to pangram and also got false positive. Maybe it is AI, maybe not. But using AI to accuse someone else of using AI is ironic.
9/25/2026, 11:37:30 AM
by: bonsai_spool
Note 'Balance ton Claude' is an oblique reference to 'Balance ton porc', what's commonly considered the French equivalent of the US #MeToo cultural event
9/25/2026, 11:01:00 AM
by: unified101
Pangram 100% is notoriously difficult for humans to do, even with intent.
9/25/2026, 10:58:45 AM
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9/25/2026, 11:25:56 AM
by: suddenlybananas
There's important extra context on this case in that the author has been discovered to be a flagrant plagiarist. He won an award in 2014 for a work which was almost entirely ripped from a French novel in the 60s.<p><a href="https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/litterature/2026-09-23/thelyson-orelien-rattrape-par-un-passe-de-plagiaire.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/litterature/2026-09-23/thelyson...</a>
9/25/2026, 11:34:11 AM
by: routeroff
The author behind the twitter account has been discovered [1] (source in french and behind paywall). It's team leaded by a french essayist and journalist at "Le Figaro" named Samuel Fitoussi.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/qui-se-cache-derriere-le-compte-balance-ton-claude-a-l-origine-de-la-chute-de-thelyson-orelien-20260924" rel="nofollow">https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/qui-se-cache-derriere-le-com...</a>
9/25/2026, 11:26:48 AM
by: thrance
I love learning about an alleged "uproar" in my own country from a BBC link shared on HN.
9/25/2026, 11:27:47 AM
by: cubefox
People are now also finding cases of plagiarism (not AI writing) in his past published articles. <a href="https://ca.rollingstone.com/culture/thelyson-orelien-author-plagiarism-ai-canada/" rel="nofollow">https://ca.rollingstone.com/culture/thelyson-orelien-author-...</a>
9/25/2026, 11:14:18 AM
by: stef25
> a writer with an exceptional life-story<p>Sounds familiar
9/25/2026, 11:00:55 AM
by: aswegs8
What's the big deal? If the book is good, it is an excellent use of AI.
9/25/2026, 11:05:06 AM