After Jamir Nazir was announced as the winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Caribbean region, and ‘The Serpent in the Grove’ published in Granta, the accusations of the story being at least partially written by generative AI began to pour in.

Twitter users began to notice that beyond the prose style, Nazir seemed to be very pro-AI on his personal LinkedIn, and that his language seemed to differ greatly from the poetry on his Facebook.

Some even pointed to his AI-generated author image on the Commonwealth Foundation site, while others ran the story through AI-detection software (despite the ethical concerns over feeding texts to AI and doubts over its efficacy).

Now, according to The Hindu, The Commonwealth Foundation has announced that it is conducting a review of its short story prize selection process.

“The Commonwealth Foundation would like to assure our community that we take seriously the integrity of the judging process of the Short Story Prize. All entrants are asked to submit their original work in accordance with our entry rules. We are conducting a thorough, transparent review of the selection process,” the notice said.

In its FAQs, the Commonwealth Foundation states that “entries are read by real people at every stage of the judging process and not put through an AI system.”

In a later statement, the Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation Razmi Farook said that it is aware of the allegations regarding the Short Story Prize.

“Our judging process is robust,” the statement reads. “Each story is assessed through a thorough process which involves multiple rounds of readers before progressing to the final judging panel.”

Farook also noted that the foundation does not use AI checkers in the judging process, as it would “raise significant concerns surrounding consent and artistic ownership.”

He added that the foundation relies on the authors confirming that they are submitting original work. “All shortlisted writers have personally stated that no AI was used and, upon further consultation, the Foundation has confirmed this,” he said. “We place our confidence in the integrity of our contributors and the calibre and experience of the judges and Chair of the Judging panel, and stand by the assurances given by our authors as part of our process.”

(Via ABC)