Is the society in the book better off than ours?

[Yasmine ZM]

In the futuristic society portrayed in the book, they seem to have managed to control some of the issues we face now in our societies such as the risk of overpopulation, food security... but was it worth the price they paid?

[Tara D Morgan]

I don't think the futuristic society portrayed in the book is better off than ours. Humans have been given the brain power to make choices, and in this world, humans are expected to behave and act like robots, having no choices in life. If they do step out of line, the punishments are cruel. This wouldn't be a world I would want to live in. I would not be able to cope if I wasn't allowed to think for myself and it also sounds like a drab world with all the gender-neutral colours; nope, definitely not a better world!

[Samantha Barnes 3]

Even though this society has found a solution to some problems we face today, I don't think they are better off. The planet may be better, but the people all seem to be suffering.

[Grace Elkana]

The truth is that there is never a utopic society. Though this society is in the future and seemingly organized, there were still some issues that the people dealt with. This is why Kim could allow her defiant self to find expression.

[Kelsey Roy]

Although some of these problems were solved, I think this is a society that NOBODY would want to live in. What’s the point of solving transportation issues if merely looking at someone on the bus warrants severe repercussions? I would absolutely NOT want to live in a society such as this.

[Maryam Newman]

I always find this kind of story intriguing, akin to Huxley's "Brave New World" and movies like "Equilibrium" and "V for Vendetta". Personal freedoms will always have to be sacrificed in the quest for social harmony, and like the abovementioned stories, "Terms of Service" shows us a picture of desirable ultimate social harmony at the undesirable cost of ultimate sacrifice of individual freedoms. I personally believe that this type of extreme, authoritarian, externally-enforced compliance is not a viable option for human society, and that utopia can only be found through universal individual acceptance of self-responsibility and self-governance.

[Aditii Mehta]

I think although they solved some serious problems but it was the result of much suffering. We are in a much better place right now.

[Michael Valentine]

I feel like the society in this book found a lot of solutions to the problems we face today. But I wouldn't want to live in a world like that where I wouldn't even get to think for myself. I don't think the society in this book is better than our society.

[Emily Meadows]

There were a few holes in the book that make it hard to compare our current society with the one created in the book. In the book, was there homelessness? Did everyone have food even if it was gross yucky bland food? Was their any crime? Greed? etc.? I think I prefer our flawed society to the one in the book, even if it's imperfect.

[Natasha Hlongwane]

The society in the book is definitely not better off than ours. What makes human societies unique is autonomy. Having every aspect of life controlled by AIs would be suffocating.

[readingswithsoso]

The portrayed world it is not a better world! It's solves some of today's issues as you mentioned, yes. However, it is not worth it. A world where taking drugs as an escape, where a machine that can't even reade emotions correctly is the one in charge of reading your intentions and decide your fate it's a no.

[readingswithsoso]

Honestly, at times, I felt like I lived a very similar world. I've lived in a country where they love rules almost as much as their family; where they were very strict. Where people walked around like zombies to go back and forth to work and endulged in alcohol to have fun. Plus, I was working in a big comythwt cared more for quantity than quality.

I don't this the portrayed world is a valid solution. The mental health goes down the drain.. suicide is even briefly mentioned.
So, no.

[Rocky Ellery James Tumbelaka]

I don't think the society in the book is better than ours. The fact that parents have to give up their child at a certain age is the big No from me. It made me feel like it is more of an ant hive than a society.

[John Ikenwanze]

That society cannot be better than the one we have here. Although the technology deployed seemed to solve a lot of problems, it created more in its wake. Technology took over the wheels of control which are supposed to lie in the hands if the people. Technology is for the people, not the people for technology.

[Chinemezu Okafor]

In terms of the arrangement, yes, but in terms of other things, no. I don't think I would appreciate an AI deciding what I would eat.