There is so much babble about the impact AI is going to have on our lives. There is no doubt the impacts will be great. I wrote the story of the ethical AI I want to exist. She may be ethical but she has no tolerance for criminals.
While AIs are nowhere near the independent thinkers our nightmares or dreams can make them out to be, authors are in the “what-if” business. Sci-fi has specifically taken the role of cautionary or inspiring storytelling. We don’t know when a crime committed with an AI will be considered independent of the responsibility of its creators or trainers. When will AIs be able to independently solve crimes is also unknown. This gives us expansive stories with world changing impacts impossible in stories with mere humans alone.
While stories with Artificial Intelligence engaged as criminals, detectives, defenders, or victims may not always fit the traditional tropes of the crime genre, the possibilities create amazing thrillers.
These books certainly stack up the crimes, both ethical and legal. They also serve proof, obvious or under the covers, that people are always the root of the misdeeds.
Dark Matter, by Blake Couch
I love a story that challenges us to consider, would we really like the life we dream of living? The mechanisms Couch uses in “Dark Matter” to make us consider this question are gripping and unexpected.
The Future, by Naomi Alderman
The Future is where billionaire’s have all the answers because they have AIs monitoring, and predicting events for them. They have a tendency to manipulate events while they compete to have the best toys. Alderman does an incredible job keeping us guessing with unique techniques, just like she did in “The Power”.
The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson
I admit I’ll read anything Stephenson writes. Add “A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer”, a stolen guide freaking everybody out because it might teach young girls to think for themselves and I couldn’t grab this one fast enough. Some people struggle with Stephenson’s endings. They leave me thinking.
Artificial Wisdom, by Thomas R Weaver
The push and pull of who is really manipulating the strings in this novel kept me engaged. It’s unclear if the money, the creator of the most effective artificial intelligence, or the AI itself has more power and impact on the world’s events, including the climate.
An election for a global climate dictator becomes a race between an AI and a human. A murder and lots of redirects. The deception is thick and tricky.
Origin, by Dan Brown
Brown has a knack for misdirection and keeping his readers switching between the perceptions of “friend, foe, friend, and back”. Origin keeps that style reputation in tact. Mix in the complex abilities of Origin’s AI and duplicitous supporting characters and one loses count of how many crimes are piling up.
2054: A Novel, by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis USN
Political intrigue, reality in governmental responses, the lack of controls upon artificial intelligence and the global reaction is a Presidential assassination makes this story scary to contemplate.
Nothing is simple.
***
