Review of Terms of Service
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Inthesar Rahman
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Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
The book, Terms of Service, is a dystopian science fiction story written by Craig Stillwell. It is about a young woman by the name of Kim who lives in a world where everything is dictated by Artificial Intelligence or Ais from the meals they eat to the people they interact with. Kim may be living a prosperous life but she isn’t properly living to the fullest. It doesn’t help that her job is at a big corporation where she has to train other AIs to do their job. Think of it as the Big Brother programme from 1984 in combination with The Hunger Games where there is one group of people in control of people’s lives, which is then challenged when Kim wonders into a prohibited area and is soon challenged to train an AI that is exactly like her, knowing everything about her movements, blurring the line of conformity and identity.
This novel is definitely a dark take of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. A world where everything is dictated and run by Ais is scary as it is but them managing every single detail of their lives? Stillwell succeeded in exploring the dystopian world the main character is living in as she is alive and making a good amount of money, but she isn’t properly living her life to the fullest. What I really like about it is the bond between Kim and the AI she is trying to train. From the beginning, it looks like she is trying to do her job but slowly overtime she begins to accept that she is her own person, and in a world where having an own identity is seen as a taboo, it gives a spark of hope that they will find a place where they can be free and be their own person without any worries of people watching over their shoulders.
The one thing that I didn’t like about the book is when it began. The first chapter of reading her mundane, boring day-to-day life really didn’t try and bring me into the story until later in the chapters. At times, just reading about what colours her clothes are to what she eats and who she hangs around with made me feel like falling asleep most of the time. Perhaps an insight to the company that created the Ais and hints on what they are trying to achieve would help interest me a lot.
If I were to rank this book, I would give this book 5 out of 5. The dark and bleak undertones can really capture the audience as they explore the world and help build up the feeling of paranoia of someone watching you really tells you about the dangers of using Artificial Intelligence as well as giving the first hand experience of someone who lives through this every day of her life and is used to it despite wishing for more. You can really feel the cynicism of the character and the hope she could have a better life but you know that is a dream that won’t ever come true. You can call it a futuristic version of A Handmaid's Tale, especially with the author's notes that asks the reader, who are they reading it as? The protagonist or the AI itself?
In terms of who I would recommend this book to, I would say the gothic community will have a sense of enjoyment of this book. The bleak and gloomy atmosphere of the world the book is set it can capture their attention and the eerie atmosphere the story tries to encapsulate in this world. It can also help show a little bit of hope to the readers that Kim may find her identity until the author’s notes asks the reader who they really are. Overall, the theme of gender identity is played extremely in this story and I hope others will find the book wonderful to read also.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
The book, Terms of Service, is a dystopian science fiction story written by Craig Stillwell. It is about a young woman by the name of Kim who lives in a world where everything is dictated by Artificial Intelligence or Ais from the meals they eat to the people they interact with. Kim may be living a prosperous life but she isn’t properly living to the fullest. It doesn’t help that her job is at a big corporation where she has to train other AIs to do their job. Think of it as the Big Brother programme from 1984 in combination with The Hunger Games where there is one group of people in control of people’s lives, which is then challenged when Kim wonders into a prohibited area and is soon challenged to train an AI that is exactly like her, knowing everything about her movements, blurring the line of conformity and identity.
This novel is definitely a dark take of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. A world where everything is dictated and run by Ais is scary as it is but them managing every single detail of their lives? Stillwell succeeded in exploring the dystopian world the main character is living in as she is alive and making a good amount of money, but she isn’t properly living her life to the fullest. What I really like about it is the bond between Kim and the AI she is trying to train. From the beginning, it looks like she is trying to do her job but slowly overtime she begins to accept that she is her own person, and in a world where having an own identity is seen as a taboo, it gives a spark of hope that they will find a place where they can be free and be their own person without any worries of people watching over their shoulders.
The one thing that I didn’t like about the book is when it began. The first chapter of reading her mundane, boring day-to-day life really didn’t try and bring me into the story until later in the chapters. At times, just reading about what colours her clothes are to what she eats and who she hangs around with made me feel like falling asleep most of the time. Perhaps an insight to the company that created the Ais and hints on what they are trying to achieve would help interest me a lot.
If I were to rank this book, I would give this book 5 out of 5. The dark and bleak undertones can really capture the audience as they explore the world and help build up the feeling of paranoia of someone watching you really tells you about the dangers of using Artificial Intelligence as well as giving the first hand experience of someone who lives through this every day of her life and is used to it despite wishing for more. You can really feel the cynicism of the character and the hope she could have a better life but you know that is a dream that won’t ever come true. You can call it a futuristic version of A Handmaid's Tale, especially with the author's notes that asks the reader, who are they reading it as? The protagonist or the AI itself?
In terms of who I would recommend this book to, I would say the gothic community will have a sense of enjoyment of this book. The bleak and gloomy atmosphere of the world the book is set it can capture their attention and the eerie atmosphere the story tries to encapsulate in this world. It can also help show a little bit of hope to the readers that Kim may find her identity until the author’s notes asks the reader who they really are. Overall, the theme of gender identity is played extremely in this story and I hope others will find the book wonderful to read also.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV
