TORONTO \u2014 In the absence of surefire technology to determine whether something was written by artificial intelligence, some Canadian publishers say they have to rely on something nearly as thorny: trust.<\/p>\n
Alana Wilcox, the editorial director of Coach House Books, wrote in an email that the company asks writers to be upfront about whether their work contains material generated by AI.<\/p>\n
She said the existing tools to discern the use of AI have proven unreliable and problematic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs AI becomes more sophisticated, we don\u2019t imagine the existing tools will become more reliable \u2014 it will become more and more difficult to identify AI use,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
There is renewed attention on the role of artificial intelligence in the book industry after a Quebec publisher cut ties with an author accused of using AI to write his debut novel.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Montreal-based publishing house Les \u00c9ditions du Bor\u00e9al said an analysis of some documents\u2019 metadata found evidence author Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien used AI while writing his novel \u201cC\u2019\u00e9tait \u00e7a ou mourir\u201d (\u201cIt was either that or dying\u201d).<\/p>\n
Allegations that Or\u00e9lien used AI in his book first emerged on social media in September. The author denied using AI to write the book but said he had used it for research. Or\u00e9lien did not respond to The Canadian Press\u2019 request for comment following the publisher\u2019s announcement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Before the controversy, the novel had been nominated for several major French literary awards and won the Prix du Roman Fnac. It has since been removed from contention for France\u2019s prestigious Prix Goncourt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Les \u00c9ditions du Bor\u00e9al didn\u2019t specify which metadata showed the AI use.<\/p>\n
And while the allegations against Or\u00e9lien illustrate that trust may not always be enough, Wilcox said the Toronto-based Coach House Books doesn\u2019t see much of an alternative.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur contract asks the author to affirm that their book does not contain AI-generated material. But there is no reliable way to police this: the tools that exist have proven unreliable and problematic in countless ways,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cNor are we interested in supporting systems that were trained on stolen material \u2014 our books,\u201d she added, referencing the fact that AI detection tools are, themselves, artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
David Caron, the co-publisher of Toronto-based ECW Press, said their author contracts include language around AI use in the warranty clause, which asks an author to guarantee specific facts about their manuscript — including that the work is original and wholly owned by the writer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to rely on you to tell us what it is that you\u2019ve done and what\u2019s here in your manuscript,\u201d Caron said. \u201dOur best is what we can do, but we rely on the author to tell us about the things that we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa Quinn, president of the Association of Canadian Publishers, said \u201cthe publishing industry strongly believes that artistic creation, intellectual creation is a human-centred activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Quinn, who is also the executive director of McGill-Queen\u2019s University Press, said AI technology is a broad descriptor and there is nuance in how assistive AI tools can be used in publishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, she said there is a significant difference between using assistive AI technology to help in the translation of a sentence for comprehension versus using generative AI to produce a translation of a complex work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose uses are radically different \u2026 where the AI is in fact a generative AI engaged in the act of writing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Like Wilcox, Quinn said she has concerns about relying on AI-detection technology because they\u2019re predictive models built on \u201ctruthiness rather than truth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA perfect answer will not be forthcoming,\u201d Quinn said. \u201cWhat you will get is a likelihood that something may or may not be the case. And that I think puts writers and publishers in a very, very difficult position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn said the evolution of AI technology is outpacing the industry\u2019s ability to set policies around it and there are unanswered questions about how to regulate it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where, I think, having clear policy as a publisher is helpful, but it must be built on a relationship of trust and with the human-centred principle very clearly a component of that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n
Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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