Art Under Threat? The Use of AI in Creative Writing, Sponsored by PEN America

Saturday, March 7, 1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET

Ballroom II, Baltimore Convention Center, Level 400

The subject of numerous lawsuits, conversational AI bots have been trained on millions of books, without authors’ consent. Despite this theft, some authors are utilizing the new technology in their work, from testing plotlines to incorporating the generated text in ways that question its impact on literature and humanity. In this timely discussion, bestselling authors Ken Liu (All That We See or Seem), Karen Hao (Empire of AI), and Vauhini Vara (Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age), with moderator Will Knight, examine the ethical considerations, threats, and possibilities in using generative AI.

Panelist Bios: 

Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering the impacts of AI on society. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and wrote a book, Empire of AI, about the company and its global implications, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. She writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series. She was formerly a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review. She has received numerous accolades, including an American Humanist Media Award, an American National Magazine Award for Journalists Under 30, and the TIME100 AI. She received her bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from MIT.

Photo credit: Shoko Takayasu




Ken Liu is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards, he wrote the Dandelion Dynasty, a silkpunk epic fantasy series, as well as the short story collections The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world. Before becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant.

Photo Credit: Lisa Tang Liu






Vauhini Vara is the author of Searches, named a best book of the year by Esquire and a Belletrist Book Club pick; Publisher’s Weekly called it a “remarkable meditation.” Her previous books are This is Salvaged, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and won the High Plains Book Award, and The Immortal King Rao, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Colorado Book Award. She is also a journalist and a 2025 Omidyar Network Reporter in Residence, currently working as a contributing writer for Businessweek.

Photo Credit: Brigid McAuliffe