At the Hay Festival in the UK, legendary writer Salman Rushdie amused the audience by saying that authors can remain calm—as long as artificial intelligence doesn’t write a book that truly makes people laugh. Rushdie admitted that he has never used AI himself and prefers to imagine it doesn’t exist, but couldn’t resist joking: “Don’t listen to jokes from ChatGPT,” he emphasized, eliciting laughter from the audience.
The writer believes that humor remains an unattainable peak for modern models, and this is what sets them apart from true creators. He is convinced that as long as AI does not master the art of the joke, writers have time for creativity without competition from algorithms.
The event was accompanied by heightened security measures: police and security were visible on stage, and the audience was advised to take their seats in advance. Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, Rushdie remained optimistic and shared his joy at the conclusion of the trial against his attacker, as well as the writing of a new book, which he called a sort of homecoming.
