France establishes the Prix Pascal for works created with the help of AI

A new prize for human-machine creativity

France has established the Prix Pascal literary prize for works created by humans together with artificial intelligence. It is named after the French mathematician, philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal, who developed one of the first mechanical calculating machines. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, with details provided by Daryo.uz.

Participation conditions

Authors from any country may take part. Works must be written in French and not previously published anywhere, and must also offer original approaches to solving social, ethical or environmental problems. The organizers welcome experiments with form: participants may, for example, abandon the usual order of pages or invent new forms of interaction between author and reader.

Technical report and the role of the human

The submission must include a technical report with a detailed description of the work's creation process: it should allow other authors to reproduce and develop the proposed approach. The jury will evaluate not only the use of AI but also the human contribution — the chosen form, the constraints set, and the way the material is organized. Applications are accepted until November 30; after the selection process, 10 finalists will be determined, and the winner's name will be announced in early December.

The scandal against which the prize emerged

The prize arose against the backdrop of a conflict over AI and literature. Canadian writer of Haitian origin Thélisson Aurélien, nominated for the Goncourt Prize, was suspected of using AI in writing his novel. The book was removed from the list of contenders, and the Canadian publisher Les Editions du Boreal announced it was ending its cooperation with Aurélien.

Context and significance

The Prix Pascal effectively legitimizes the very practice that in another case led to Aurélien's exclusion from the Goncourt Prize and his break with the publisher: here the use of AI is not hidden but openly described in a technical report and evaluated by the jury alongside the human contribution. In practical terms, this means that authors working with AI gain a dedicated platform with clear rules — the French language, an unpublished manuscript, and an open methodology for creating the text. For the publishing community, the prize sets a model of transparency: instead of suspicion, a documented process that other authors can reproduce.