UK author M. John Harrison, 81, won the Booker Prize for his novel The End of Everything, receiving £50,000 ($67,000).
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
UK author M. John Harrison won the Booker Prize on Monday for his novel The End of Everything, a darkly satirical depiction of post-apocalyptic Britain that echoes concerns about artificial intelligence.
Harrison, 81, became the oldest winner of the award, which comes with a £50,000 ($67,000) prize and a boost in sales and profile for the winner. It was his 13th novel. The prize was awarded at a London ceremony.
The End of Everything follows the beachcomber Phillip Tennent and his dementia-stricken, free-spirited aunt Marnie, set in the near-future on the windswept English coast invaded by mysterious objects known as the iGhetti. An unnamed catastrophe plunges the characters into a murky post-apocalyptic world where the European continent seems to have disappeared and the arrival of the iGhetti, which can imitate humans, evoke interactions with artificial intelligence.
"One main point of the book is that if, or when, such an apocalypse comes it will be incomprehensible," chair of the judges Mary Beard told a press conference.
"This is the politics of now seen through the lens of the future," Beard said in a statement.
In dream-like episodes this tight, 198-page novel alludes to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the invasion of technology into daily life.
The theme of artificial intelligence has been on the judges' minds through the year-long selection process, which saw them whittle down 163 entries to a shortlist of six novels. Harrison beat shortlisted authors Marlon James, Douglas Stuart, Elizabeth Strout, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry.
"The End of Everything" came out "ahead in terms of both its extraordinary expert writing, but also huge ambition," Beard told a press conference.
Beard pointed out concerns surrounding AI were "pretty high on this book".
"Phillip has got this object, this artefact, and it's not clear how sentient it is. It's not clear what it is," Beard said in a press conference to announce the winner.
In an earlier interview with AFP, Beard said the prize-awarding panel would have to think about the role of AI in publishing and writing in the coming years.
"I think for the future it's inevitable that that will be on the agenda. You can't bury your head in the sand about that," she said.
The other judges have talked about wanting to create a shortlist of books that were distinctly human, and could not be replicated by AI.
The award highlights how artificial intelligence concerns shaped this year's Booker Prize judging process, from the 163-entry longlist to the final selection of a novel that explores AI-like entities in a post-apocalyptic setting.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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