Review of Terms of Service

[Maria Fernanda Tovar Ortiz]

[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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In a world where AIs control every aspect of our lives, Kim, an AI trainer, lets her curiosity get the best of her and gets thrown into the belly of the monster, learning how the Hierarchy works and how AIs are created and developed, gaining a deeper understanding of the world around her, and how they control society. Kim is faced with the dilemma of helping the Hierarchy keep the status quo, or passively rebel against it.

Terms of Service by Craig Stanfil is an excellent book, it explores how a dystopian world would work considering how our current society works. It shows a deep understanding of AIs and the methods of control we have today. The world described here feels like a real possibility and explains how it can keep existing, despite the unfairness and wrongness it has.

I liked how the society works, the constant vigilance they are under, how is justified by all the characters, and how the soft power of the Hierarchy and the control methods keep the people compliant, it’s subtle, with the punishment and reward system, upgrading and degrading the citizens. I was gladly surprised by how gender and sexuality were taken into account, and how a society that wants everyone to be identical eliminates these concepts, censoring deviances from the norm. I also like how Kim and Shan’s rebellion means very little on a grand scale, the methods of control are so firm and ingrained in the society, and what they do doesn’t affect the world around them to make a real change.

I have nothing to dislike about this book, it has excellent characters and a well-thought world-building, it has enough facts about AIs to make it feel believable, and generates its own logic to justify the fiction in it. The book is very immersive from the first chapter and can trap you in Kim’s story.

I rate this book five out of five stars, recommended to anyone that enjoys sci-fi and dystopic worlds, is an excellent book, immersive from the first chapter, and very insightful of our current society and our relationship with surveillance and AIs.

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Terms of Service
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