Salman Rushdie: “ChatGPT has no humor, no originality and is really a bad writer”

The British-Indian author Salman Rushdie appeared at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Friday evening under great security precautions. Rushdie (“The Satanic Verses”) has been persecuted by radical Islamists for decades and was attacked and seriously injured by a man at an event in New York State in August 2022 – he has been blind in one eye ever since.

The press conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair was one of his first public appearances after the attack. “I’m glad to be here, in somewhat sane condition,” said Rushdie, who appeared relaxed and often responded with humor. The attack was “a pretty harsh and sharp reminder” of the fatwa. “It was a close call, I’m glad to still be here.” He owes his survival to the doctors who operated on him for eight and a half hours.

The 76-year-old will be honored with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade on Sunday in Frankfurt’s Paulskirche. Rushdie is worried about the current political situation, but doesn’t want to give up hope. “The world is not in a good state,” he said on Friday at the Frankfurt Book Fair. “But unreasonably, I remain optimistic.”

Horror in Israel

The events in Israel “fill me with horror,” said the 76-year-old. “I am horrified by the Hamas attacks and suspect what (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu will do in return.” He hopes that the fighting will stop as soon as possible. It is also “a risky time for democracy” worldwide. It was not only in the United States that some parties abandoned the democratic path and developed a cult of personality. “These are dark times.”

What gives the author hope is literature. “Writing is an optimistic act. You assume that someone will read it later,” said Rushdie.
“Literature shows the world as a rich and complex place, which is the opposite of a narrow, rigid worldview.” His new book “Messer” is scheduled to be published in April 2024. He finished it ten days ago. The topic is the knife attack in the USA in which Rushdie lost an eye. “It was impossible to write about anything else until I got through this topic.”

Rushdie misses some of this courage in young authors. “I have the impression that there is a certain uncertainty among young authors about what they dare to write about. Not just for political considerations, but also for social and cultural reasons.” That worries him. “In my opinion, anyone can write about anything. If this is not true, literature ceases to exist. If women are only allowed to write about women, Indians only about Indians and heterosexuals only about heterosexuals – that is the death of art.”

AI produces “total garbage”

He is not afraid of artificial intelligence (AI). Someone asked ChatGPT to write 300 words “in the style of Salman Rushdie,” the author of global bestsellers like “The Midnight Children” reported at the book fair. “What came out was complete rubbish.” However, such systems learned quickly. He is worried that AI can imitate voices or fake videos. “But as far as the written word is concerned, I’m not too worried at the moment. Because ChatGPT has no humor, no originality and is really a bad writer. So far, so good – but ask me again in ten minutes.”

“Great honor”

The former Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s assassination in 1989 because of the novel “The Satanic Verses” and offered a bounty on his head. Since then, he has lived in the knowledge “that this possibility exists,” said Rushdie. In his own words, he considers the Peace Prize “a great honor” – he feels honored to be on the list of prize winners with so many people he admires.