Review of Terms of Service
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Emily Meadows
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Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
Have you ever wondered what life might be like in a future where robots and virtual reality avatars with varying degrees of artificial intelligence (AI) live alongside humans? If so, consider reading Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill. His take on life 250 years into the future is dystopian science fiction at its best. In Terms of Service, we meet Kim, a human character who lives in what once was the United States of America. She works at The Artificial Intelligence Company, training moderately intelligent artificial intelligences (AIs).
In the book, the author builds an entirely new world. The characters speak a new language called Panglobal, but highly educated humans also know "classical" English. The artificial intelligences control every aspect of the characters’ lives. This includes what they eat, the temperature of the showers they take, where they live, who they have sex with, and their social standing. The characters' behavior influences everything, even how long their commute takes. Kim lives in this world but is unhappy, and she finds herself questioning everything about it.
I am not normally a lover of science fiction, but this book fascinated me. I really enjoyed it. The author is unsubtle about this future reality. He describes the world he’s created in a note at the start of the book. He then lays out the "customer agreement" that citizens in this world must adhere to on page 2. I probably should have been turned off by the description of Kim’s apartment (bland, beige), but instead I found myself wanting a house robot (housebot). Kim’s housebot serves her coffee every morning and keeps her house clean. YES, PLEASE.
The author does a fantastic job weaving together the story around Kim’s upbringing, her friends, and her career aspirations. Kim meets up with friends in virtual reality often, rarely seeing them face-to-face. She drinks too much vodka every night to help herself cope with the emptiness she feels inside. And every time she messes up, we see how she is punished by the AIs. Kim and her fellow humans are controlled by fear and social pressure. The author is clear that he wrote the book to be provocative, exposing parts of life as we know it today and magnifying them.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was a thought-provoking read that fully captured my attention and made me think. It was also exceptionally edited. I still wonder if I would have made the choices that Kim made. Probably not. Humans have free will, which is what makes us different from AIs. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian sci-fi. Potential readers of this book should note that characters take mood-enhancing drugs and drink alcohol when they go partying, which may be disturbing or triggering to some.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Have you ever wondered what life might be like in a future where robots and virtual reality avatars with varying degrees of artificial intelligence (AI) live alongside humans? If so, consider reading Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill. His take on life 250 years into the future is dystopian science fiction at its best. In Terms of Service, we meet Kim, a human character who lives in what once was the United States of America. She works at The Artificial Intelligence Company, training moderately intelligent artificial intelligences (AIs).
In the book, the author builds an entirely new world. The characters speak a new language called Panglobal, but highly educated humans also know "classical" English. The artificial intelligences control every aspect of the characters’ lives. This includes what they eat, the temperature of the showers they take, where they live, who they have sex with, and their social standing. The characters' behavior influences everything, even how long their commute takes. Kim lives in this world but is unhappy, and she finds herself questioning everything about it.
I am not normally a lover of science fiction, but this book fascinated me. I really enjoyed it. The author is unsubtle about this future reality. He describes the world he’s created in a note at the start of the book. He then lays out the "customer agreement" that citizens in this world must adhere to on page 2. I probably should have been turned off by the description of Kim’s apartment (bland, beige), but instead I found myself wanting a house robot (housebot). Kim’s housebot serves her coffee every morning and keeps her house clean. YES, PLEASE.
The author does a fantastic job weaving together the story around Kim’s upbringing, her friends, and her career aspirations. Kim meets up with friends in virtual reality often, rarely seeing them face-to-face. She drinks too much vodka every night to help herself cope with the emptiness she feels inside. And every time she messes up, we see how she is punished by the AIs. Kim and her fellow humans are controlled by fear and social pressure. The author is clear that he wrote the book to be provocative, exposing parts of life as we know it today and magnifying them.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was a thought-provoking read that fully captured my attention and made me think. It was also exceptionally edited. I still wonder if I would have made the choices that Kim made. Probably not. Humans have free will, which is what makes us different from AIs. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian sci-fi. Potential readers of this book should note that characters take mood-enhancing drugs and drink alcohol when they go partying, which may be disturbing or triggering to some.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Forever Young by Karma Wiederrick
