Prolific author Anthony Horowitz admits using artificial intelligence: ‘It feels like cheating’
Prolific author Anthony Horowitz admits using artificial intelligence: ‘It feels like cheating’
Publish Date: 2026-05-05 06:35:00
Source Domain: www.independent.co.uk
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Prolific author Anthony Horowitz, whose career spans decades and includes the beloved Alex Rider series and adult novels like Magpie Murders, has revealed he uses ChatGPT “all the time” in his writing process, a practice he admits makes him feel “nervous”.
The 71-year-old writer, currently plotting the next instalment of his popular Hawthorne and Horowitz series, confessed to a sense of unease about his reliance on artificial intelligence.
“I feel nervous about it, because, is it cheating? I feel a bit like it’s cheating in a school exam,” he stated. He recounted an instance where he asked ChatGPT for an adjective to describe a potato’s shape, receiving the word ‘ellipsoid’. This, he noted, highlighted the limitations of AI. “This is when you drop the artificial intelligence and use your own intelligence – readers hearing that the potato on her plate was ‘ellipsoid’ are going to say, ‘What the hell is this guy talking about?'”
Horowitz, known for his meticulous research, which saw him read three to four books for every episode of his…
