Jean-Pierre Balpe, born in 1942 in Mende, is a French writer, poet, and academic, and a pioneer of digital literature. A professor at Paris VIII University, he headed the hypermedia department and the Paragraphe research lab. Balpe developed automatic text generators, exploring the boundaries between literary creation and artificial intelligence. He directed the journal Action poétique (1974–2010) and the International Biennial of Poets in Val-de-Marne. Among his major works are La Toile and La Disparition du Général Proust, emblematic hyperfictions of literary web culture.