TECHNES Encyclopedia Database

The idea of using a computer for the automatic production of fictional narrative appeared with the emergence of artificial intelligence as a field of research. The oldest known example of this kind is a fairytale generator conceived by the linguist Joseph E. Grimes in the early 1960s.^[1] Soon afterwards, the first recorded book of poetry produced by a computer appeared in Quebec: La machine à écrire, mise en marche et programmé par Jean A. Baudot (The Typewriter, Set in Motion and Programmed by Jean A. Baudot).^[2] These texts were accompanied by commentary by several contemporary artists, including Jacques Godbout, Félix Leclerc and Raymond Queneau.