It’s my work, I stand by it — Caine Prize winner Kundizeza rubbishes AI allegations

ZIMBABWEAN author Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza has struck a defiant tone, hitting back at allegations that his Caine Prize-winning short story “The Blue Fighter” was written using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The allegations were published by The Atlantic last weekend, with journalist Vauhini Vara describing it as “bad—maudlin and full of tired tropes”.

This has prompted the Caine Prize to investigate the allegations against The Blue Fighter.

In a statement, Kundizeza rubbished the allegations levelled by Vara, stating the book traces back to an inspiration he got from a poem by a writer in Ghana.

“I want to set the record straight. For the avoidance of doubt, I wrote The Blue Fighter. I did not use generative AI to write it. It is entirely my own work.

“This story did not appear out of nowhere; it has a concrete, documented history. Its genesis was during my LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency in Ghana.

“While there, I read a poem by Vangile Gantsho titled ‘my father’s hands’. I was inspired by this poem to write a story about my family’s experiences in Zimbabwe, including my father leaving his accounting profession and the hardships my family faced as a result.

“Other aspects of the story, including characters and the setting, are drawn from events in my own life,” said Kundizeza.

Kundizeza’s The Blue Fighter is a story centred on a Tinashe whose family is beset by hardships after his father leaves his profession to pursue a long-time ambition of building fish tanks.

Should Kundizeza be found guilty of using AI, he may be stripped of the award.

Kundizeza further said he wrote the short story without the ambition of winning the Caine Prize that would warrant him to use unorthodox means like generative AI.

“The idea that I would have somehow written the story with the express intention of entering and winning the Caine Prize, despite the inherently competitive and uncertain nature of the prize, conjures up a motive that simply did not exist.

“The Blue Fighter is my work, and I stand by it completely. I’m grateful to Vangile for her inspiration, to The Shallow Tales Review for giving the story a home, and to the Caine Prize judges for recognising the work on its merits.

“I’m also heartened by the numerous messages of solidarity from fellow writers and readers, and to Adrienne Ingrum and Regina Brooks at Serendipity Literary Agency for their support throughout.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the Caine Prize team, and to celebrating this recognition with the people who helped bring this story into the world. Most importantly, I will continue to write,” said Kundizeza.

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