Salman Rushdie on When AI Will Pose a Real Threat to Writers
Salman Rushdie recently spoke at the 2025 Hay Festival about the impact of artificial intelligence on authors and when writers should start to worry. The acclaimed novelist, promoting his new short story collection The Eleventh Hour, admitted he prefers to pretend AI doesn’t exist and has never used it himself.
Rushdie pointed out a key limitation of AI: its lack of humor. “It has no sense of humour – you don’t want to hear a joke told by ChatGPT,” he said. For him, the real turning point will be when AI can write genuinely funny books. “If there’s a moment when there’s a funny book written by ChatGPT I think we’re screwed,” he added.
The Context of Rushdie’s Appearance
This event marked Rushdie’s most prominent public appearance in the UK since he was attacked on stage in the US in 2022. Security was tight, with police, sniffer dogs, and thorough bag checks in place. The attack involved Rushdie being stabbed multiple times during a talk at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, an incident that left him blind in one eye.
Rushdie has spoken openly about the trauma in his 2024 book Knife. The attacker, Hadi Matar, was sentenced to 25 years last month for the assault.
Returning to the Scene and Moving Forward
At the festival, Rushdie reflected on an important moment when he and his wife returned to the place of the attack. “It was to show myself I could stand up where I fell down,” he said. He also expressed relief that conversations could shift back to fiction, rather than focusing solely on the attack. “I’m over it,” he stated plainly.
Background on Rushdie’s Challenges and Legacy
Rushdie’s life has been marked by controversy since the 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses. The book’s depiction of the prophet Muhammad led to a fatwa calling for his execution, issued by Iran’s former spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This forced Rushdie into years of hiding.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest living authors, known for combining magic realism with historical fiction. His 1981 novel Midnight’s Children won the Booker Prize, solidifying his reputation.
What Writers Should Take Away
- AI tools are improving, but creativity, especially humor, remains a challenge for them.
- Writers should watch for when AI starts producing genuinely original and funny content—that’s when competition will intensify.
- Human experience and voice still hold unique value in storytelling, something AI hasn’t matched yet.
For writers interested in learning about AI tools and how they might affect creative work, exploring courses on AI and prompt engineering can provide useful insight. Resources such as Complete AI Training’s ChatGPT courses offer practical knowledge on working alongside AI technology.
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