An artificial intelligence (AI) programme in Japan has managed to pass the first stage of a national literary competition after co-writing a short story.

The novel, suitably titled The Day a Computer Writes a Novel, was written by an AI software programme created by a team from Japan's Future University Hakodate. While it didn't take first prize at the third Nikkei Hoshi Shinichi Literary Awards, it did make it through the first round of screening.

It's worth pointing out that, technically, the AI didn't actually write the novel: rather, the human team established certain parameters relating to plot and characters and gave the AI words to use, which it strung together. Still, it's a pretty impressive feat, particularly considering that the story made it as far as it did without the judges realising it was written by an AI programme.

hi-news.ru