{"id":10505,"date":"2026-10-21T23:13:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T23:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=10505"},"modified":"2026-10-21T23:13:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T23:13:59","slug":"canadian-publisher-drops-writer-thelyson-orelien-over-ai-use-in-novel-technology-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=10505","title":{"rendered":"Canadian publisher drops writer Thelyson Orelien over AI use in novel | Technology News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Publisher Boreal says investigations confirmed the Hatian-Canadian Thelyson Orelien used AI in his breakthrough novel.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 21 Oct 2026<\/span>21 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The publisher of best-selling Haitian-Canadian writer Thelyson Orelien says it has severed its professional relationship with the author after confirming he used artificial intelligence to help write his novel, \u201cIt Was Either That or Die\u201d.<\/p>\n

Boreal said on Wednesday that it conducted a further investigation after allegations surfaced in September to determine whether AI was used to write the novel.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNew information, confirmed over the past few days, indicates that artificial intelligence was used in the writing process\u201d of the novel, a Boreal statement said.<\/p>\n

Orelien had previously denied allegations surrounding his breakthrough novel, and last week, the Canadian publisher said it was standing by the 38-year-old writer.<\/p>\n

Boreal said it did not know the extent of AI\u2019s use in the writing process \u201cand we will likely never have a definitive answer\u201d.<\/p>\n

It said it gathered all the working versions of the novel and hired an outside party to analyse the various drafts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results obtained this week revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents,\u201d Boreal said.<\/p>\n

The publisher said it had tried to work with Orelien to gather the evidence necessary to prove his innocence.<\/p>\n

That effort was inconclusive, and Orelien \u201csubsequently announced that he would not provide any further information,\u201d the publisher said.<\/p>\n

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A copy of the book \u201cC\u2019etait ca ou mourir\u201d, by author Thelyson Orelien, is displayed on a table inside a bookstore in Paris, France, on September 22, 2026 [File: Sarah Meyssonnier\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Slander and heresy\u2019<\/h2>\n

Orelien\u2019s novel about migration, known by its original French title \u201cC\u2019etait ca ou mourir\u201d, had been scheduled for translation in more than 20 countries.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s top book prize, the Goncourt, removed \u201cC\u2019etait ca ou mourir\u201d from its shortlist after tests with the AI detector Pangram indicated a 100 percent probability that it contained computer-generated text.<\/p>\n

But Orelien called the allegations \u201cslander and heresy\u201d in a statement sent to AFP earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere and there I did use tools for research, particularly for foreign idioms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut not a single sentence in this book was created by a machine, nor the meaning or the structure of a story that comes from my gut,\u201d Orelien said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, he stood firm, telling the French newspaper Liberation that he had used AI \u201cin the creative process\u201d for \u201chistorical research\u201d.<\/p>\n

The author said he began writing the book in late 2017, before AI services such as ChatGPT were widely available.<\/p>\n

When the allegations first surfaced in September, Orelien said he suspected racism was behind the attacks on him.<\/p>\n

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Publisher Boreal says investigations confirmed the Hatian-Canadian Thelyson Orelien used AI in his breakthrough novel. Published On 21 Oct 202621 Oct 2026 The publisher of best-selling Haitian-Canadian writer Thelyson Orelien says it has severed its professional relationship with the author after confirming he used artificial intelligence to help write his novel, \u201cIt Was Either That…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t