Thelyson Orelien returns to Montreal amid AI scandal

Haitian-Canadian author Thelyson Orelien has returned to Montreal as controversy continues over allegations that he used artificial intelligence to write his debut novel, friends and fellow writers said.

Orelien, 38, became a prominent name in the French-language literary world this month after his migration-themed novel, “It Was Either That or Die,” sold quickly and drew prize nominations and translation deals.

The controversy began after an anonymous X account alleged that parts of the book were written with AI. Orelien has denied the claims and says the attacks on his work are racially motivated.

AI-detection tools have produced mixed results on excerpts from the novel. AFP testing with Pangram indicated a 100-percent probability that one excerpt was AI-generated, while other tools gave results ranging from “very likely” human-written to “100 percent” AI-generated.

Orelien has been dropped from France's top literary prize and his promotional tours have been suspended. He has promised to provide proof that he wrote the book himself and to speak in detail once the situation has calmed.

Haitian poet and novelist James Noel said he had spoken to Orelien during the controversy and found him “devastated”. Rodney Saint-Eloi, another Haitian writer from Montreal, also defended him and said he was being publicly attacked.