‘Adolescence’ Scribe Jack Thorne Claims Fellow Writers Are Using AI To “Cheat” & Says Those Caught Should Be Punished

Jack Thorne, one of the UK’s most respected screenwriters, has alleged that some of his peers are using artificial intelligence to generate scripts. In a wide-ranging speech about AI on behalf of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), the Adolescence and Lord of the Flies writer said he was aware of fellow creatives turning to the technology to “cheat.” He said: “I have spoken to a number of execs and studio heads about their use of AI, and got hugely different responses, but what I did hear from them – and what anecdotally I’ve heard from a few writers close to me – is that some in my profession are using AI to cheat.” “What I’m not talking about here is using AI to help: To discuss things with, to check for spelling errors or help with layout. I’m talking about using AI as a replacement for endeavour, as a replacement for writing at all. Using prompts instead of writing words. That is, simply put, failing to write, they’re cheating their employers in doing so, and they’re cheating their fellow writers.” Watch on Deadline Thorne, who also penned Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, said writers have to be “squeaky clean” when it comes to the provenance of their scripts. “Passing AI work off as your own needs to be unlawful. If you use AI to generate content and you do not declare it as such, then that is fraud and the companies you do it to should be entitled to prosecute you,” he continued. “If I excitedly pitch my Mars show to Netflix and they send me to script, and I write the script using AI and do not tell them, then they should have the right to take me to court.” He added that the industry should introduce its own sanctions for passing off AI-generated material, calling on the BBC and Channel 4 to take action if they make these discoveries. “To discourage it, the impact should be sizeable, and that requires laws but also us as an industry responding. Just as it should get you threatened with expulsion at university if you use it for essays, so it should have some professional impact on your career if you use it for text.” “To protect the most vulnerable, it is essential,” he said. “As writers, what we are is what we make, and both the law and our industry should be absolutely crystal clear on that.” In his speech, titled Authorship in the Age of AI, the WGGB president was critical of the government’s AI policies, claiming that ministers are “staring at AI with eyes wider than Bugs Bunny.” “A regulatory body that monitors and regulates AI expansion and suggests Government intervention, if necessary, in the market,” Thorne said. He added that big tech companies should be compelled to publish their AI training data sets, with “audited summaries of every input that has led to their outputs.” Thorne said: “Big tech steal, but because they don’t have to declare where they stole from, the stealing goes unpunished.” He continued: “The pieces of AI we use cannot be built using thievery. Cannot be built on a copyright crime. That’s what government is there for, to set lines in an argument. While adaptation is probably necessary, legislating so that you are protecting us from the worst excesses is essential.” A government spokesperson said: “Copyright laws must protect the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI-driven innovation. We are doing the work that’s required to get the right outcomes so both the creative and technical sectors can flourish in this country.”