AI-written books can now win a literary prize as France launches Prix Pascal

A new literary prize recognising books written with AI has launched in France, offering the winning author a chance to have their work published.

According to The Guardian, the Prix Pascal de Littérature IA welcomes manuscripts created using AI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and LLaMA.

Writers worldwide can enter, but submissions must be in French and contain between 10,000 and 50,000 words.

Applicants must also explain which AI model and prompts they used to produce their manuscripts.

The competition is named after French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, who helped develop an early mechanical calculator.

The launch comes amid growing controversy over the use of artificial intelligence in literature.

Several major literary competitions, including the Commonwealth short story prize, Caine prize and France's prestigious Prix Goncourt, have faced questions about possible AI involvement in submitted works.

Applications opened on Tuesday and will close at the end of November.

Organisers plan to select 10 shortlisted manuscripts before announcing the winner in early December.

A judging panel of five or six writers, critics, journalists, philosophers and publishers will assess the entries, with its members expected to be announced in early November.