The Caine Prize for African Writing has confirmed Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza’s award for The Blue Fighter after reviewing allegations about artificial intelligence. Its board says it found no evidence of the use of generative artificial intelligence. The organisation interviewed people involved with the story and commissioned a forensic examination of draft metadata.
The Caine Prize for African Writing has upheld Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza’s award for The Blue Fighter. Following an authorship review, its board said it had found no evidence that the story was written using generative artificial intelligence. Kundizeza, who lives in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, remains the recipient of the 10,000-pound literary prize. The finding is the board’s conclusion from its investigation.[1], [2]
The organisation spoke with Kundizeza, the judges and the story’s original publisher, The Shallow Tales Review. It also commissioned an independent specialist in cybersecurity and digital forensics to examine metadata from the drafts. The review followed an allegation by journalist Vauhini Vara in The Atlantic, based on an assessment by the detection tool Pangram. Kundizeza denied using artificial intelligence.[1]
Kundizeza had described the story’s inspiration after winning in October. At a Ghanaian event the previous year, he heard South African poet Vangile Gantsho reading about her father’s interest in building fish tanks. He said he combined that idea with fictionalised experiences from his own life around 2002. The resulting story follows a boy whose family faces economic hardship.[1]
