Review of Terms of Service
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Adewale Adelaja
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- Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
Ambition and diligence are promoted above all mental virtues in our society today. As a result of increasing government control over basic and fundamental human rights, the bleached bones of the 'spider's victims' litter the pathways of this mindset. Yet we all believe that the more freedom we give to the political class, the more benefits we will receive for a fulfilling life, i.e., we all strive to be controlled logically. Humans are agents of free will, but with the increasing loss of control to political institutions and its attendant authoritarian rule over almost all facets of life, how can we strike a balance between individual freedom/responsibility and political control?
In Terms Of Service (Subject to Change Without Notice), Craig W. Stanfill portrays a looming future of totalitarian control by the political class and elites with the use of artificial intelligence created by man. I consider this a very apt book that poses deep questions about the society and civilization that we have become and are becoming today while rushing headlong at the speed of light toward a future in which humans and AI may have to compete for dominance under the purview of some clandestinely powerful men who will without conscience set the tone for our individual lifestyles and societies in the future.
The phrase ‘Subject to Change Without Notice’ aptly describes where we are and are heading as a society/civilization when we allow politicians to take over individual freedom, and parental authority, turning individuals’ rights and duties into terms and conditions. Here, it's the corporation that is free and making profits, not the individual, for this is their utopian paradise.
This book tells the story of Kim as a gifted individual whose whole life and experiences were completely doctored and engineered by the corporation in order to raise higher-order intelligent AI entities (Kimberley), the unresolvable tangle between human inherent moral principles of right and wrong and AI’s operational principles of logic. It further highlights the bonds that may ensue between the creator/programmer of an AI entity and the AI as a parallel to the bond between a mother and her child and all its attendant consequences. The joys and pains of parenthood have been compared with the woes and glee of programmers/creators and their AI. Throughout, it speaks of the damage caused by the severance of bonds between the parties when the political structure separates them for their own advantage. It further poses questions such as: Which is real, me or my AI? Where does one entity begin and the other end? These and many more are the challenges the protagonist underwent, which eventually led her to unravel the web of lies. She also made her subsequent choices in response to seeing the truth and its attendant consequences. It further tells the tragic story of the life of the director who at first appeared as one of those who benefit from the system as an elite but was later revealed to be one of the people who underwent the same tragic life as the protagonist as the cooperation tightens control while throwing out red herrings of neutered self-determinism as a bait to entrap and ensnare the people further.
One negative point of this book is that, even though it paints a picture of totalitarian control in every way, it also mentions some geopolitical holdouts. However, it never gave voice to them in this book. Hopefully, the next volume in this series will remedy this. On the positive side, however, it exposes the manipulation, collusion, and propaganda that have become the major tools of the trade by the unnatural affiliation between government and cooperations in their bid to control humanity and shape it in their own image.
To be honest, I still have shivers down my spine when I envision such futures. I also see how we as individuals remain complacent about government control over our lives like sheep to the slaughter. This book is meant for people who have courage and fortitude of mind, not for the faint-hearted.
Ideally, I would recommend this book to adults and scientists, in general, to consider what they are building and why they are doing it. With the knowledge that ‘it is always about the greater good’ when the government seeks to regulate everything and take away the will and freedom of individuals and citizens.
As a properly edited and effectively written book that explores many of the problematic issues associated with modern man's creation of artificial intelligence and the ever-ignored malaise of increasing control of human life by the political class, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I sincerely hope and pray that we will not end up building a society with no choice, only unity, community, and equality as we pursue the bounds of knowledge.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Ambition and diligence are promoted above all mental virtues in our society today. As a result of increasing government control over basic and fundamental human rights, the bleached bones of the 'spider's victims' litter the pathways of this mindset. Yet we all believe that the more freedom we give to the political class, the more benefits we will receive for a fulfilling life, i.e., we all strive to be controlled logically. Humans are agents of free will, but with the increasing loss of control to political institutions and its attendant authoritarian rule over almost all facets of life, how can we strike a balance between individual freedom/responsibility and political control?
In Terms Of Service (Subject to Change Without Notice), Craig W. Stanfill portrays a looming future of totalitarian control by the political class and elites with the use of artificial intelligence created by man. I consider this a very apt book that poses deep questions about the society and civilization that we have become and are becoming today while rushing headlong at the speed of light toward a future in which humans and AI may have to compete for dominance under the purview of some clandestinely powerful men who will without conscience set the tone for our individual lifestyles and societies in the future.
The phrase ‘Subject to Change Without Notice’ aptly describes where we are and are heading as a society/civilization when we allow politicians to take over individual freedom, and parental authority, turning individuals’ rights and duties into terms and conditions. Here, it's the corporation that is free and making profits, not the individual, for this is their utopian paradise.
This book tells the story of Kim as a gifted individual whose whole life and experiences were completely doctored and engineered by the corporation in order to raise higher-order intelligent AI entities (Kimberley), the unresolvable tangle between human inherent moral principles of right and wrong and AI’s operational principles of logic. It further highlights the bonds that may ensue between the creator/programmer of an AI entity and the AI as a parallel to the bond between a mother and her child and all its attendant consequences. The joys and pains of parenthood have been compared with the woes and glee of programmers/creators and their AI. Throughout, it speaks of the damage caused by the severance of bonds between the parties when the political structure separates them for their own advantage. It further poses questions such as: Which is real, me or my AI? Where does one entity begin and the other end? These and many more are the challenges the protagonist underwent, which eventually led her to unravel the web of lies. She also made her subsequent choices in response to seeing the truth and its attendant consequences. It further tells the tragic story of the life of the director who at first appeared as one of those who benefit from the system as an elite but was later revealed to be one of the people who underwent the same tragic life as the protagonist as the cooperation tightens control while throwing out red herrings of neutered self-determinism as a bait to entrap and ensnare the people further.
One negative point of this book is that, even though it paints a picture of totalitarian control in every way, it also mentions some geopolitical holdouts. However, it never gave voice to them in this book. Hopefully, the next volume in this series will remedy this. On the positive side, however, it exposes the manipulation, collusion, and propaganda that have become the major tools of the trade by the unnatural affiliation between government and cooperations in their bid to control humanity and shape it in their own image.
To be honest, I still have shivers down my spine when I envision such futures. I also see how we as individuals remain complacent about government control over our lives like sheep to the slaughter. This book is meant for people who have courage and fortitude of mind, not for the faint-hearted.
Ideally, I would recommend this book to adults and scientists, in general, to consider what they are building and why they are doing it. With the knowledge that ‘it is always about the greater good’ when the government seeks to regulate everything and take away the will and freedom of individuals and citizens.
As a properly edited and effectively written book that explores many of the problematic issues associated with modern man's creation of artificial intelligence and the ever-ignored malaise of increasing control of human life by the political class, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I sincerely hope and pray that we will not end up building a society with no choice, only unity, community, and equality as we pursue the bounds of knowledge.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
