Will the Dream of Anonymous Writing Turn into a Nightmare?

Abstract

The article explores how the widespread use of artificial intelligence is transforming the conditions for authorship and writing culture. This development is placed in a historical context, referencing earlier literary engagements with automated writing, from Jonathan Swift’s satire to George Orwell’s dystopia. From Alan Turing’s early speculations to contemporary generative AI models like ChatGPT, the article traces the technological advancements that have made machine-generated text a new reality. Then a typology of authors in the AI era is developed, ranging from those who insist on purely human writing to a limited use of AI and avant-garde writers experimenting with AI and, finally, fully automated literary production. The question of authorship is examined in relation to Michel Foucault’s idea of anonymous writing, and the conclusion highlights a shifting writing culture, where the boundary between human and machine-generated text is becoming increasingly fluid.