Review of Terms of Service
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Suzeemac2
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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.]
1 / 1
In Terms of Service by Craig W Stanfill, Kim lives in a futuristic world where conformity rules. ‘The Company’ has a set of rules, the Terms of Service, by which all citizens must live and are judged. The rules are enforced by a system of artificial intelligence that essentially watches everyone all the time. The AI also runs their lives by chips that are implanted in their wrists, mobiles and headsets that they wear. From transportation, to dating, to food choices, every aspect is run by AI. Even the home appliances are run by AI and are interactive. While that might seem like a good idea, I'm not sure I’d want a fridge that tells me what I can and cannot have to eat. To ensure conformity, people are expected to dress the same and are only given a very limited choice of color and style of clothing that is “appropriate” to wear. They are sprayed with a skin toner, making everyone a uniform color and wear “manes”, which I suspect are wigs to make hairstyles and hair color uniform. All persons are referred to as she/her regardless of gender, which actually is rarely mentioned. They earn points by following the rules and can use the points to improve their social standing and housing options. Anyone wanting to have a child must apply to have one but then they must give that child up at the age of 4 to go live with a mentor who will raise them the way The Company deems appropriate. Games, concerts, really, any large gathering, are all done by virtual reality, done in the comfort of your own living room.
The story follows Kim, who works at The Company for Artificial Intelligence as an AI trainer, as she navigates through this world of control and constant observation. She struggles with memories that haunt her dreams and feelings that something is missing in her life. As she is beginning to explore these feelings, an old friend comes back into her life and they have an adventure that changes how Kim sees her world. This sets the tone for her in a new opportunity that she is presented with at work and how she views AI.
I find this book to be very intriguing in how the author presents artificial intelligence and how it could be used to control humans in the future. There are references to music, religion and life in the “old days” (our time) that are interesting and sometimes amusing. Groups connected with any of these things are considered rebels/cults and are punished as criminals. The book is very engaging and is an easy read with good plot and character development. I think the presentation of AI as the controlling body of a civilization is both interesting and a little frightening. While I am not exactly technology savvy, I think the author does a fairly good job of simplifying the AI system for his readers.
That being said, there is one section where he describes a system of AI that I have a hard time imagining. It is necessary to the storyline and the author does make it as simple as possible, but it is just beyond my scope of understanding. Not really a negative of the book, but of my limited grasp of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
My rating for this book is 5/5, as I feel the storytelling is compelling and the book is very well written. It has an original twist of people in this future having the pronouns of she/her without any reference to actual gender. I am intrigued by the fact that even with all of the control and constant surveillance of artificial intelligence, humans will still crave individuality and freedom, even if it means being punished. I felt connected to Kim and experienced her struggles and joys along with her. I am really hoping there is a sequel to this book.
I do think that this book is geared more toward the science fiction genre, but it is a good read for anyone who likes a good human vs machine story.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
1 / 1
In Terms of Service by Craig W Stanfill, Kim lives in a futuristic world where conformity rules. ‘The Company’ has a set of rules, the Terms of Service, by which all citizens must live and are judged. The rules are enforced by a system of artificial intelligence that essentially watches everyone all the time. The AI also runs their lives by chips that are implanted in their wrists, mobiles and headsets that they wear. From transportation, to dating, to food choices, every aspect is run by AI. Even the home appliances are run by AI and are interactive. While that might seem like a good idea, I'm not sure I’d want a fridge that tells me what I can and cannot have to eat. To ensure conformity, people are expected to dress the same and are only given a very limited choice of color and style of clothing that is “appropriate” to wear. They are sprayed with a skin toner, making everyone a uniform color and wear “manes”, which I suspect are wigs to make hairstyles and hair color uniform. All persons are referred to as she/her regardless of gender, which actually is rarely mentioned. They earn points by following the rules and can use the points to improve their social standing and housing options. Anyone wanting to have a child must apply to have one but then they must give that child up at the age of 4 to go live with a mentor who will raise them the way The Company deems appropriate. Games, concerts, really, any large gathering, are all done by virtual reality, done in the comfort of your own living room.
The story follows Kim, who works at The Company for Artificial Intelligence as an AI trainer, as she navigates through this world of control and constant observation. She struggles with memories that haunt her dreams and feelings that something is missing in her life. As she is beginning to explore these feelings, an old friend comes back into her life and they have an adventure that changes how Kim sees her world. This sets the tone for her in a new opportunity that she is presented with at work and how she views AI.
I find this book to be very intriguing in how the author presents artificial intelligence and how it could be used to control humans in the future. There are references to music, religion and life in the “old days” (our time) that are interesting and sometimes amusing. Groups connected with any of these things are considered rebels/cults and are punished as criminals. The book is very engaging and is an easy read with good plot and character development. I think the presentation of AI as the controlling body of a civilization is both interesting and a little frightening. While I am not exactly technology savvy, I think the author does a fairly good job of simplifying the AI system for his readers.
That being said, there is one section where he describes a system of AI that I have a hard time imagining. It is necessary to the storyline and the author does make it as simple as possible, but it is just beyond my scope of understanding. Not really a negative of the book, but of my limited grasp of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
My rating for this book is 5/5, as I feel the storytelling is compelling and the book is very well written. It has an original twist of people in this future having the pronouns of she/her without any reference to actual gender. I am intrigued by the fact that even with all of the control and constant surveillance of artificial intelligence, humans will still crave individuality and freedom, even if it means being punished. I felt connected to Kim and experienced her struggles and joys along with her. I am really hoping there is a sequel to this book.
I do think that this book is geared more toward the science fiction genre, but it is a good read for anyone who likes a good human vs machine story.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
