Review of Terms of Service
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Adven Simarmata
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Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is the first book in the "The AI Dystopia" series, which belongs to the sci-fi genre. It tells of a society in the future where technology is very sophisticated and everything is very organized, formal, and rigid. Artificial intelligence and robots are widely used to assist people in doing a wide range of activities such as doing house chores, finding dating partners, choosing healthy meals, and many more. However, this advanced civilization is not without drawbacks. Per government regulations, people's lives are constantly watched and controlled by artificial intelligence. For instance, people are not granted free will on what they want to eat and who they want to date; artificial intelligence makes the decisions for them. The more bizarre thing is that people's morals are graded by artificial intelligence, and the grades determine their privileges in society. People constantly watch their actions so as not to be graded badly by artificial intelligence, hindering people to show their genuine emotions and to express their uniqueness.
This book follows Kim, who, although lives comfortably and has a good job, often feels her days are meaningless and her work is tedious. Nevertheless, she just keeps going to maintain her position in the company she works for and her level in society. Occasionally, she questions social conventions; however, she has no intention of going against social conventions. She knows that being the oddball is never wise even if she is right. However, an adventure with her friend changes her view of the world. She begins to think that there is something really wrong with society, especially the government. Does the government really care about the people by making these rigid rules, just like what they always say to the people? Or are those rules made for personal gain? One of the many weird rules that makes Kim question the sincerity of the government is that each child must be parted from his/her birth-giver at four years old and handed over to a mentor. Kim's parting with her birth-giver has been so sorrowful, but she cannot do anything about it and has never dared to oppose the rule. However, since this adventure, Kim has never been more critical of social conventions. Find out more about the other weird, but widely accepted social conventions in this society that will make you shake your head. And find out more about Kim's adventure to debunk the social conventions and seek the truth.
I can confidently say that this is the best science fiction I have ever read. I would classify this book as hard sci-fi, meaning that it is filled with scientific accuracy and logic. The advanced society illustrated in this book is not merely a fantasy, but it was speculated with reference to current technological developments. The author himself obtained a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and has spent his career conducting innovative research in AI. This piece of literature reflects his vast knowledge and understanding of AI and technology because the technological details were written so coherently and in an easy-to-understand manner. Reading this book was like playing a puzzle. In the first half of the book, questions related to the plot started to emerge in my mind. Then, as I got close to the end of the book, I began finding the answers to those questions and started to understand the story as a whole. This quality made me always absorbed in the story and curious about what would happen next. One other important quality of this book is it really touched my heart. It is a very emotional book about the relationship between a parent and a child, finding the meaning of life, seeking and fighting for the truth, and escaping from the ruthless power of an evil government.
I did not find any grammatical or spelling errors. There is nothing I don't like about this book. However, I just want to point out that this book was so powerful in affecting my mind. While reading, I occasionally found myself overthinking and feeling anxious about the ideas of future civilizations presented in this book. However, after finishing the book, I felt such satisfaction that it increased my knowledge, opened my mind, and made me ponder the fascinating possibilities of how society in the future would look like. This is a super mind-blowing book despite the uneasiness it gave.
I rate Terms of Service a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars. This is an inspiring science fiction with great technological details and an astonishing concept. I recommend this book to those who love science fiction, especially about future technology and artificial intelligence. This book is also suitable for people who love emotional stories about the relationship between a parent and a child and about finding the meaning of life.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is the first book in the "The AI Dystopia" series, which belongs to the sci-fi genre. It tells of a society in the future where technology is very sophisticated and everything is very organized, formal, and rigid. Artificial intelligence and robots are widely used to assist people in doing a wide range of activities such as doing house chores, finding dating partners, choosing healthy meals, and many more. However, this advanced civilization is not without drawbacks. Per government regulations, people's lives are constantly watched and controlled by artificial intelligence. For instance, people are not granted free will on what they want to eat and who they want to date; artificial intelligence makes the decisions for them. The more bizarre thing is that people's morals are graded by artificial intelligence, and the grades determine their privileges in society. People constantly watch their actions so as not to be graded badly by artificial intelligence, hindering people to show their genuine emotions and to express their uniqueness.
This book follows Kim, who, although lives comfortably and has a good job, often feels her days are meaningless and her work is tedious. Nevertheless, she just keeps going to maintain her position in the company she works for and her level in society. Occasionally, she questions social conventions; however, she has no intention of going against social conventions. She knows that being the oddball is never wise even if she is right. However, an adventure with her friend changes her view of the world. She begins to think that there is something really wrong with society, especially the government. Does the government really care about the people by making these rigid rules, just like what they always say to the people? Or are those rules made for personal gain? One of the many weird rules that makes Kim question the sincerity of the government is that each child must be parted from his/her birth-giver at four years old and handed over to a mentor. Kim's parting with her birth-giver has been so sorrowful, but she cannot do anything about it and has never dared to oppose the rule. However, since this adventure, Kim has never been more critical of social conventions. Find out more about the other weird, but widely accepted social conventions in this society that will make you shake your head. And find out more about Kim's adventure to debunk the social conventions and seek the truth.
I can confidently say that this is the best science fiction I have ever read. I would classify this book as hard sci-fi, meaning that it is filled with scientific accuracy and logic. The advanced society illustrated in this book is not merely a fantasy, but it was speculated with reference to current technological developments. The author himself obtained a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and has spent his career conducting innovative research in AI. This piece of literature reflects his vast knowledge and understanding of AI and technology because the technological details were written so coherently and in an easy-to-understand manner. Reading this book was like playing a puzzle. In the first half of the book, questions related to the plot started to emerge in my mind. Then, as I got close to the end of the book, I began finding the answers to those questions and started to understand the story as a whole. This quality made me always absorbed in the story and curious about what would happen next. One other important quality of this book is it really touched my heart. It is a very emotional book about the relationship between a parent and a child, finding the meaning of life, seeking and fighting for the truth, and escaping from the ruthless power of an evil government.
I did not find any grammatical or spelling errors. There is nothing I don't like about this book. However, I just want to point out that this book was so powerful in affecting my mind. While reading, I occasionally found myself overthinking and feeling anxious about the ideas of future civilizations presented in this book. However, after finishing the book, I felt such satisfaction that it increased my knowledge, opened my mind, and made me ponder the fascinating possibilities of how society in the future would look like. This is a super mind-blowing book despite the uneasiness it gave.
I rate Terms of Service a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars. This is an inspiring science fiction with great technological details and an astonishing concept. I recommend this book to those who love science fiction, especially about future technology and artificial intelligence. This book is also suitable for people who love emotional stories about the relationship between a parent and a child and about finding the meaning of life.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise by John K Danenbarger
