'The Winds of Winter' Update: Has George R.R. Martin Dropped The Most Brutal Hint Yet That 'TWOW' Will Never Be Completed?

It has been more than a decade since George R.R. Martin first promised the sixth novel in his epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter, and fans are no closer to discovering the fate of Westeros.

The author has now given perhaps the clearest and most brutal sign yet that the book remains unfinished—not through a progress update, but in his outspoken comments regarding the influence of artificial intelligence in modern publishing. Is the man who created Game of Thrones now so consumed by fighting the future of authorship that the book will be put off forever?

The Existential Threat of AI and The Lawsuit Impact on The Winds of Winter

In a new interview, Martin addressed the high-profile lawsuit he and dozens of other authors initiated against OpenAI in 2023, alleging widespread copyright infringement by the corporation. The veteran author, who joined the legal fight alongside literary giants such as Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham, provided his perspective on the battle.

The veteran author said: 'Well, the Author's Guild is suing [OpenAI], and I'm one of the plaintiffs to that lawsuit. Now, we don't think, speaking to the guild's lawyers and to the other plaintiffs in the suit, we don't think we're gonna outlaw AI. You can't outlaw new technology. You can try, people have tried through history... but it's here to stay. The question is: what kind of regulations are you gonna have? What rules are there going to be?'

Martin concedes that A.I. is unavoidable; yet, he underscores that in the absence of permission, regulation, and safeguards for writers, the technology poses a potential existential threat to authorship itself. He warned that without protection for writers' intellectual property, creative industries may not survive.

'Only a Human Will Write It, Or Nobody Will' Complete The Winds of Winter

The most striking aspect of Martin's statements—and the source of genuine concern for fans—lies in the subtext: despite the prolonged years of delays, he firmly asserts that no computer will ever write The Winds of Winter.

Frustrated readers have humorously proposed that A.I. might conclude the series; however, Martin has made it evident that only a human would complete The Winds of Winter, otherwise it will remain unfinished.

The author's strong insistence that the book must be written by a human, and not a machine, serves as a clear indication that the human writing process is still incomplete. As time progresses without a definite release date, the latter, more daunting possibility appears to be the most probable alternative.

While George R.R. Martin insists that no machine will ever write The Winds of Winter, his focus on the urgent legal battle against AI highlights a painful truth for fans: the fight to protect his past work is taking precedence over completing his future one.

As the author acknowledges the inevitability of AI, the prolonged delay of his novel makes the 'nobody will' outcome appear more probable every day. What do you think? Will Martin finish the series, or has the war with Big Tech finally ended the saga?

Join the conversation and tell us your predictions for the fate of The Winds of Winter.