Margaret Atwood Says Her Only AI Encounter Produced “Garbage In, Garbage Out” at Inaugural Babell Literary Festival in Porto

Margaret Atwood used a career Q&A at the inaugural Babell Literary and Cultural Festival in Porto, Portugal, to describe what she called her first and only encounter with artificial intelligence, saying, “It’s garbage in, garbage out.” The remark came as festival organizers brought the Canadian author to Portugal’s second city to discuss Book of Lives, her memoir, as well as her long-running observations about writing, culture, and technology’s effect on language.

According to Deadline’s report from the event, Atwood said her AI experience was singular and that she had only tried it once. In the conversation, she framed her encounter as an illustration of how AI systems can reproduce flawed inputs rather than generate reliable understanding, underscoring the idea that outputs track the quality of what is fed into them.

The report also ties Atwood’s comments to the specific AI system she encountered, identifying it as Claude. Atwood’s characterization, delivered in what the outlet described as her famously sardonic tone, was part of a wider Q&A focused on her career and the themes she explores in her latest work, including the personal history and reflection contained in Book of Lives.

Babell’s festival, held in Porto, marked its first edition, with Atwood positioned as one of the event’s headline appearances. The session took place June 27, 2026, the same day Deadline published its account of her remarks, placing the discussion of AI and literature in the context of a newly launched cultural program rather than an established annual conference.

In her remarks about technology, Atwood did not present a technical breakdown of how AI models work, according to the report, but instead offered a plain-language assessment of reliability and authorship. Her “garbage in, garbage out” framing, delivered to a live audience as part of a public literary program, centered on quality control, particularly the risks of treating machine-generated text as equivalent to carefully produced writing.

Atwood’s participation also highlighted how major established authors are increasingly being drawn into public discussions about AI, including where it appears in the arts and what it may mean for readers, writers, and cultural institutions. For Babell, the reported event shows the festival’s early emphasis on big-name, career-spanning conversation rather than a narrow focus on a single genre or outlet.

The next steps for audiences and organizers will depend on how Babell schedules additional talks and panels during its inaugural run. Atwood’s comments, as reported, are expected to remain part of the festival’s public record because they were made during an on-the-day public Q&A tied to her memoir release and the event’s broader cultural agenda.