Caine Prize clears Zimbabwean author of AI writing allegations and adds new rules

The Caine Prize for African Writing has cleared Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza of using artificial intelligence to write this year’s award-winning story, but also announced new measures to guard against the use of generative AI in submissions.Kundizeza said Thursday he felt “relieved” that the allegations raised in an article by The Atlantic magazine had been dismissed.“It was not necessary in the first place, I am happy to put all this behind me and continue with my writing journey,” he said.The allegations had sparked a wider debate on social media, with some questioning whether Black authors are being unfairly targeted by AI-related accusations.The Caine Prize for African Writing said Wednesday it considered “the matter closed” after an internal review that included “rigorous” interviews with the author and metadata analysis of drafts.“We feel the evidence is clear and have made the decision that Simbarashe’s award stands,” Ellah Wakatama, chair of the Caine Prize, said. “We