PEN America at AWP 2026: Art Under Threat? The Impact of AI on Creative Writing

The subject of numerous lawsuits, conversational AI bots have been trained on millions of books, without authors’ consent. Despite this theft, some authors are utilizing the new technology in their work, from testing plotlines to incorporating the generated text in ways that question its impact on literature and humanity. In this timely discussion, bestselling authors Ken Liu (All That We See or Seem), Karen Hao (Empire of AI), and Vauhini Vara (Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age) examine the ethical considerations, threats, and possibilities in using generative AI.

This event is a part of the 2026 AWP Conference; the discussion will be live streamed and include live captioning.

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