Australian Boy Wins $20,000 Poetry Prize With Critique of ChatGPT

A 12-year-old Australian boy, Blake McKenzie, has won the youth category of an Australian poetry competition for 2026 with a poem challenging excessive reliance on artificial intelligence.

The winning entry, titled “Dear ChatGPT,” takes aim at dependence on AI tools. The prize was valued at $20,000.

McKenzie framed his criticism as a direct address to ChatGPT, making the chatbot the focus of his award-winning poem.

His entry brings a young writer’s perspective to questions about the role of artificial intelligence in everyday life, using poetry to express concern about relying too heavily on the technology.