Review of Terms of Service
Posted: 23 Dec 2022, 20:40
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
In Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice by Craig W. Stanfill the action takes place in the world of the future controlled by artificial intelligence, or “AI”. The book's story revolves around the life of Kim, a young human who is an assistant AI trainer. At school, Kim majored in artificial intelligence, and she was very excited when she landed a job with The Artificial Intelligence Company. Now in her sixth year with the company, Kim is still training low-level AIs that are “simple devices incapable of thinking for themselves”. Kim feels bored and ready for a change when she is unexpectedly summoned to the Director’s office and offered to work with high-order AIs. In return for the promotion, her employer expects from Kim “absolute, immediate, unquestioning obedience”. Will Kim succeed in her new role?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. The story is masterfully written in a suspenseful blend of dynamically changing scenes of Kim’s workdays and pastime adventures. I am very impressed by the author’s mastery of turning the daily trivia of Kim’s life into mesmerizing and thought-provoking read, be it Kim’s altercations with the uncooperative fridge about breakfast or dinner choices, or her journey to work guided by the navigational overlay in her VR headset.
I also enjoyed the multitude of messages the author conveys through his portrayal of the world in which Kim lives and tries to succeed in her AI training career. Every day of Kim’s life at work and at leisure made me reflect on whether Kim’s world is better than ours, how I would feel, and what I would do if I were Kim.
The humour in the book is subtle and hilarious. My favourites are The Clothing Company’s advert of the “week’s amazing new fashion sensation, vibrant pale beige!” and the fine for “loitering with amorous intent”.
The corporate captivity of employees and denial of privacy exposed in this book remotely remind me of Dave Eggar’s “The Circle”. But Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice goes far beyond these restraints on human freedoms. In the futuristic world where Kim lives, humans are controlled by the AIs both mentally and physically through the implanted chips and VR systems capable of disconnecting the human motor neurons from their brains.
My favourite episode in Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice is the meeting Kim had with the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Company, in the course of which the Director shared with Kim her own life story and predicted for Kim the purpose of life that would eventually prevail over “selfist delusions”. This episode is very powerful in its multitude of messages, and it made me see the world portrayed in the book and the characters of Kim and the Director from a completely new perspective.
The book was exceptionally well edited, and I found no spelling or grammatical errors. I found nothing to dislike in Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice , and I rank it 4 out of 4 stars and 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to a wide adult audience of fans of techno-thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy. The scenes of explicit intimacy and discussions of sexual relationships make this book unsuitable for children.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
In Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice by Craig W. Stanfill the action takes place in the world of the future controlled by artificial intelligence, or “AI”. The book's story revolves around the life of Kim, a young human who is an assistant AI trainer. At school, Kim majored in artificial intelligence, and she was very excited when she landed a job with The Artificial Intelligence Company. Now in her sixth year with the company, Kim is still training low-level AIs that are “simple devices incapable of thinking for themselves”. Kim feels bored and ready for a change when she is unexpectedly summoned to the Director’s office and offered to work with high-order AIs. In return for the promotion, her employer expects from Kim “absolute, immediate, unquestioning obedience”. Will Kim succeed in her new role?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. The story is masterfully written in a suspenseful blend of dynamically changing scenes of Kim’s workdays and pastime adventures. I am very impressed by the author’s mastery of turning the daily trivia of Kim’s life into mesmerizing and thought-provoking read, be it Kim’s altercations with the uncooperative fridge about breakfast or dinner choices, or her journey to work guided by the navigational overlay in her VR headset.
I also enjoyed the multitude of messages the author conveys through his portrayal of the world in which Kim lives and tries to succeed in her AI training career. Every day of Kim’s life at work and at leisure made me reflect on whether Kim’s world is better than ours, how I would feel, and what I would do if I were Kim.
The humour in the book is subtle and hilarious. My favourites are The Clothing Company’s advert of the “week’s amazing new fashion sensation, vibrant pale beige!” and the fine for “loitering with amorous intent”.
The corporate captivity of employees and denial of privacy exposed in this book remotely remind me of Dave Eggar’s “The Circle”. But Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice goes far beyond these restraints on human freedoms. In the futuristic world where Kim lives, humans are controlled by the AIs both mentally and physically through the implanted chips and VR systems capable of disconnecting the human motor neurons from their brains.
My favourite episode in Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice is the meeting Kim had with the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Company, in the course of which the Director shared with Kim her own life story and predicted for Kim the purpose of life that would eventually prevail over “selfist delusions”. This episode is very powerful in its multitude of messages, and it made me see the world portrayed in the book and the characters of Kim and the Director from a completely new perspective.
The book was exceptionally well edited, and I found no spelling or grammatical errors. I found nothing to dislike in Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice , and I rank it 4 out of 4 stars and 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to a wide adult audience of fans of techno-thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy. The scenes of explicit intimacy and discussions of sexual relationships make this book unsuitable for children.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes