Rie Qudan[a] (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[b] ("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".[1]
Qudan worked as a laboratory assistant after graduation from university.[4]
In 2021, Qudan won the 126th Literary World Newcomer Award with her debut novel, Warui Ongaku[c] ("Bad music").[2][4]
Her 2024 novel Tōkyō-to Dōjō Tō[b] ("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.[5][6][7] 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.[5][8] The novel contains themes concerning
artificial intelligence.[8][9]
Tōkyō-to Dōjō Tō won Qudan the 170th
Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards for new authors.[5][10][11] During a press conference, Qudan mentioned that she used
ChatGPT, a
chatbot based on
generative artificial intelligence, to write about 5% of her novel.[6][12][11][9][d] She later clarified that AI was only used to write the AI’s dialogue in the novel. [13]
^Some sources reported that she made the statement during the award ceremony,[6][11] while The Asahi Shimbun noted that the award ceremony was scheduled to take place in February.[5]
^
ab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.
^
ab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.