Review of Terms of Service

[Loniya Chabili Mubanga]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Imagine the worst possible future for mankind, then multiply it by ten. That is what this book was. Terms of Service is a dystopian, sci-fi novel set in a futuristic period where humans are more or less ruled by Artificial Intelligence and have virtually no freedom or privacy. Their lives are under constant scrutiny and any deviation from the norms attracts dire consequences. It follows the life of Kim, a young female who works for The Artificial Intelligence Company. She soon discovers some truths that The Company keeps from the inhabitants of the land. She starts asking questions she shouldn't be asking, traversing off-limits land, and snarking back at her employers. This is the start of a chain of events that questions the very existence of the AIs and what purpose they serve; whether good or bad. It eventually leads the AI company to recruit Kim to a more special position to keep her under control. She proves to be both a valuable asset and a problematic one at the same time!

There were so many positive things about this book. To start with, the character-building was amazing. I was so intrigued for the first few chapters when the author was just describing the kind of world that Kim lived in. It was like no other. And I have read my fair share of Sci-fi, so I was impressed by how Craig W. Stanfill made me believe that a fridge could become sentient enough to decide what meals I get to eat. The author has a unique way of conjuring your wildest fears about technology taking over the world, into a reality.

There were many lessons parallel to reality in the book. For example, it emphasized the importance of a child bonding with its mother as necessary for development and if that bond is prolonged, it could be permanent. Although that was a bad thing in the book, in real life, it demonstrates just how fractured one can be without a mother's love. Which is something we observe even in Kim. She describes her life as satisfactory but lacking something, even when she didn't know it, it was her mother's love she missed.

In the book, they referred to a group of people who were morally in the right as the "Anti-mentorists cult." This begged some questions in me; what if some "cults" are actually onto something? What if the majority is wrong? The book also made me wary of what kind of information the technology we use has on us. The only good part about a world run by AIs would be the express shipping. Having items arrive minutes after ordering them would be beautiful. Many themes are talked about in the book that echoes the reality which our world is heading to. Important discussions about freedom of choice, a sense of privacy, and gender conformity to mention just a few. It was a glimpse into what our world would look like if we tried putting up sanctions and strict rules. It explored the absurdity of trying to legislate morality.

The only negative aspect of the book was the excessive drug and alcohol use. It felt agenda-driven to include so many scenes of the characters doing drugs to feel sexual excitation. I did not care for Kim's alcohol abuse as means to deal with her loneliness. Uncomfortable as this part was, it wasn't enough to deter me from enjoying the book. It is professionally and exceptionally well-edited. I did not notice any errors. I will give it a rating of five out of five stars because of the previously mentioned reasons. I loved every bit of this book.

I would recommend it to lovers of dystopian, sci-fi, and adventure-themed novels. I would also recommend it to lovers of political novels because if you read between the lines, it mimics the political setup of the real world. It contains sexual content and drug abuse, so I would not recommend it to younger readers.

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Terms of Service
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[Chris Agbara]

I have read the book too. It is a great science fiction novel that portrays the possibilities to come with the us of AI. You did a great job with the review.

[Amy Luman]

I am a big fan of AI. I also know that there is great potential for abuse of the system. Anyone who uses it needs to be aware of that potential. I agree that legislation of morality is not the answer, but I don’t know what is.