Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza denies using AI to write Caine Prize-winning story

Simbarashe Kundizeza, a Zimbabwean writer, has firmly denied allegations that he used artificial intelligence (AI) to compose his short story, which recently won the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing. This statement follows his receipt of the £10,000 ($13,000) award and claims made in a recent article by The Atlantic, which suggested that AI-detection software Pangram indicated his story was entirely AI-generated.

In a post on X, Kundizeza stated, "For the avoidance of doubt, I wrote The Blue Fighter." The accusations have sparked significant backlash on social media, prompting Caine Prize chair Ellah Wakatama to express her shock that The Atlantic published the article without a thorough investigation. She remarked, "I do wish The Atlantic had spent more time investigating this so that alongside Pangram, they did have evidence of real human investigation of it before tainting the prize and tainting this winner."

Wakatama revealed that she was informed about the allegations on Friday, just before the article by Vauhini Vara was published on Sunday. This incident follows controversies surrounding other literary awards this year, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which was awarded to Jamir Nazir amid similar AI usage allegations, and the withdrawal of Thélyson Orélien from France's Goncourt award due to claims of AI involvement in his debut novel.