Caine Prize winner denies AI use as award faces review

Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using AI to write “The Blue Fighter,” which won this year’s $10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing. Organizers are reviewing the award after The Atlantic reported that the detection tool Pangram identified the entire story as AI-generated, apart from an excerpt from another author’s poem. The prize has not been retracted.

Kundizeza said the story was entirely his own work, had undergone standard editorial processes and drew on his family’s experiences during Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil. Its characters, setting and themes of economic hardship and family relationships reflected events in his life, he said. He also rejected suggestions that stylistic differences from his earlier work undermined his authorship, saying writers can develop and work across styles and genres.

Kundizeza warned that detection technology could be used in ways that discriminate against African writers describing their own cultures and experiences. Prize organizers said they had begun a human-centered review intended to support the writer while examining the allegations. The dispute has prompted broader debate over whether Black authors are being unfairly targeted by AI-related accusations, with Radical Books Collective and Zimbabwean linguist Nhlandla Duba voicing support for Kundizeza.