“It has no…”: Salman Rushdie explains why ChatGPT will never replace authors

Looks like Salman Rushdie isn’t losing sleep over AI stealing his job anytime soon, especially if it can’t make people laugh.

Speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales, the celebrated author of Midnight’s Children joked that authors are safe from the threat of AI until the day a robot cracks a proper joke. “It has no sense of humour,” he said with a smile. “You don’t want to hear a joke told by ChatGPT. If there’s a moment when there’s a funny book written by ChatGPT, I think we’re screwed.”

Rushdie admitted he’s never actually used AI tools and prefers to live as if they don’t exist — a statement that got a few laughs from the audience. But behind the wit was a serious point: creativity, especially the kind that makes people laugh, is still very human.

This appearance was also special for another reason, it marked Rushdie’s most high-profile UK event since the 2022 stabbing in New York that left him blind in one eye. Security at the venue was tight, with police and guards stationed around the stage, as per a report by The Guardian.