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Rie Qudan (born September 27, 1990, in Saitama, Japan) is a Japanese novelist. In 2024, Qudan won the 170th Akutagawa Prize for her novel Tōkyō-to Dōjō Tō ("Tokyo Sympathy Tower"). She stated that about 5% of the novel was written by artificial intelligence.
After winning the Akutagawa Prize, she wrote in an email exchange that her preferred transliteration for her name is "Rie Qudan".
Early life and education
Qudan was born on September 27, 1990, in Urawa (now Saitama) in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
She won her first writing award for an essay she wrote during sixth grade in elementary school.
Career
Qudan worked as a laboratory assistant after graduation from university.
In 2021, Qudan won the 126th Literary World Newcomer Award with her debut novel, Warui Ongaku ("Bad music").
Her 2024 novel Tōkyō-to Dōjō Tō ("Tokyo sympathy tower") is a science fiction story about an architect who designs a tower to be built in Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyo-en garden and used as a prison to rehabilitate criminals comfortably. Set in a version of Tokyo in the near future where Zaha Hadid's version of the National Stadium for the Tokyo Olympics was built, the story is told from the perspective of the architect and her would-be biographer. The novel contains themes concerning artificial intelligence.
Tōkyō-to Dōjō Tō won Qudan the 170th Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards for new authors. During a press conference, Qudan mentioned that she used ChatGPT, a chatbot based on generative artificial intelligence, to write about 5% of her novel. She later clarified that AI was only used to write the AI’s dialogue in the novel.
Personal life
Qudan lives in Chiba Prefecture.
Notes
- Japanese: 九段理江, romanized: Kudan Rie
- ^ Japanese: 東京都同情塔
- Japanese: 悪い音楽
- Some sources reported that she made the statement during the award ceremony, while The Asahi Shimbun noted that the award ceremony was scheduled to take place in February.
References
- Qudan, Rie (2024-02-07). 九段理江 [Rie Qudan]. Bungakukai (in Japanese). Vol. 78, no. 3 (March 2024). Tokyo: Bungeishunjū. pp. 82–83.
九段理江のアルファベット表記は Rie Qudan であり、それ以外の名前を認めるつもりはありません。
- ^ 第170回芥川賞は九段理江さん（33）、直木賞は河﨑秋子さん（44）、万城目学さん（47）の受賞が決まる [170th Akutagawa Prize to Be Awarded to Rie Qudan (33), Naoki Prize to Kawasaki Akiko (44) and Manabu Makime (47)]. Shūkan Bunshun (in Japanese). 2024-01-17. Archived from the original on 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- 芥川賞の九段理江さん 「Aiのほうが優れていても自分で書きたい」 [Akutagawa Prize Winner Rie Qudan: "Even If AI Is Better, I Want to Write It Myself"]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 2024-01-17. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ 芥川賞に九段理江さん 直木賞に河崎秋子さんと万城目学さん [Akutagawa Prize Goes to Rie Kudan, Naoki Prize to Kawasaki Akiko and Manabu Makime]. NHK News (in Japanese). 2024-01-17. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ "Ex-shepherd from Hokkaido wins prestigious Naoki Prize". The Asahi Shimbun. 2024-01-18. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Mouriquand, David (2024-01-19). "Novelist wins top literary prize - then reveals she used ChatGPT". Euronews. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- 九段理江 『東京都同情塔』. Shinchosha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Choi, Christy; Annio, Francesca (2024-01-19). "The winner of a prestigious Japanese literary award has confirmed AI helped write her book". CNN. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Pearson, Jordan (2024-01-19). "Winner of Japan's Top Literary Prize Admits She Used ChatGPT". Vice. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- Smith, Benedict (2024-01-18). "Author admits she used ChatGPT to write parts of prize-winning novel". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Parry, Richard Lloyd (2024-01-18). "ChatGPT helped write my novel, says Japanese literary prize winner". The Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- "Explainer: What is Generative AI, the technology behind OpenAI's ChatGPT?". Reuters. 2023-03-17. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ""Tokyo Sympathy Tower": Building a New Babel". nippon.com. 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-17.