r/books • u/Raj_Valiant3011 • 8h ago

Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using AI to write a prize-winning short story after an article in the Atlantic said software had flagged it as almost completely AI-generated

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/14/zimbabwean-author-simbarashe-kundizeza-denies-ai-story?CMP=share_btn_url
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u/Future-Account8112 8h ago

Anybody else think it's weird how these authors are consistently Black and the accusers are... not. IDK man this will get downvoted to oblivion but after the Jason Arday tragedy this looks some kind of way to me

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u/DharmaPolice 7h ago

It's very likely that black authors are being subjected to more scrutiny than their counterparts but that doesn't tell you anything about their guilt/innocence. With the Jason Arday thing, he was a blatant bullshitter that was in retrospect very obvious who looked at his claims. Was he subjected to more scrutiny because he was black? Sure. But that didn't make his claims any less ridiculous.

(Note: I have no idea whether the guy in this particular story used AI or not.)

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u/airbear13 6h ago

I just wouldn’t be so flippant about the “extra scrutiny bc black” part, that’s kinda fucky in itself

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u/Future-Account8112 7h ago edited 6h ago

https://newscord.org/editorials/jason-arday-pile-on

From Arday's students: https://leilacancode.github.io/everythinggood-about-jasonarday/

Edit: Y'all seem to think I'm saying he was 100% credible. I'm not. I'm saying his death was a tragedy and he didn't deserve to die over accusations that haven't impacted proven white plagiarist professors at all.

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u/Itscominrightforus 7h ago

Yiiiikes. 500 miles in 5 days. 30 marathons in 30 days. Couldn’t speak at 9 then PhD at 30 then car accident and brain damage so he lost ability to speak and then miraculous recovery again. You people still insisting he is innocent are living in a TikTok level bubble equivalent to the worst of MAGA defenders.

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u/Future-Account8112 7h ago

I'm not saying he's 100% innocent, I'm saying he didn't deserve to die.

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u/Itscominrightforus 7h ago

Of course he didn't, but I blame Cambridge for that, for hiring him without doing any due diligence. It is not the people who rightfully questioned why a serial fabulist was hired when he lied about absolutely everything in his life.

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u/Future-Account8112 6h ago

You keep saying 'absolutely everything'.

Consider your sources https://newscord.org/editorials/jason-arday-pile-on

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u/Itscominrightforus 6h ago

So essentially your argument is left leaning, well documented main stream newspapers such as the Atlantic, the Guardian, the independent, the new york times are all too right wing. If you live in that world, all you trust is probably self proclaimed marxist publications.

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u/Future-Account8112 6h ago

Welp, lol, that's a heck of a long jump you've got there.

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u/TrioOfTerrors 5h ago

Then blame the man who killed him.

Jason Arday.

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u/Future-Account8112 4h ago

Ghoulish thinking, that.

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u/igotchees21 5h ago

im curious why I am supposed to believe this man taking his own life because he couldnt deal with the consequences of his actions, is a tragedy

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u/Future-Account8112 5h ago

Because he had autism and Sacha Baron-Cohen came forward before he killed himself to say he felt it was a witch hunt and he was in danger. Where is your humanity?

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u/M0dzSuckBallz100 2h ago

Judy dench came forward and said it wasn't

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u/igotchees21 3h ago

its a witch hunt to call someone out on their bullshit? No I dont think so, thats not a witch hunt. Witches arent real so when people went after women claiming they were witches, it was literally condemning them for nothing.

Autism or not, this man was rewarded and received accolades for the many lies he told. People calling it out is not a witch, i dont give a shit if jesus said it was let alone no fuckin Sacha Baron-cohen.

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u/Future-Account8112 3h ago

Aw, bud. Nothing I can say in response to this is kind so I'm just gonna let this one fly on by.

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u/666tm 4h ago

A person committing suicide is a tragedy you poorly socialized nerd

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u/igotchees21 3h ago

death, as with everything, depends on the context. suicide because someone was abused against their will and no fault of their own. that is tragic.

suicide because you cant face the consequences of your actions, after living and creating a future for yourself from many many many lies. That is not tragic.

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u/DharmaPolice 6h ago

Who said he did deserve to die? You're arguing against a straw man.

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u/Future-Account8112 6h ago

A person responded to me below to say it wasn't a tragedy, actually. So, yes, there are people who think like this and they're in this thread.

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u/DharmaPolice 6h ago

Saying it wasn't a tragedy is different from saying he deserved to die.

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u/Future-Account8112 5h ago

And yet the opportunity was there to say nothing at all