WE live now in a world where artificial intelligence , once the plaything of the science fiction scribblers, is a credible and factual concept.
It beggers the belief, but it is now
what it is.
Science has broken the umbilical cord of agnostic scepticism
where robots show that we are almost within touch of an alternative physical existence.
At its most banal, every day we are confronted on our screens -- if not our own family homes -- with:
Alexa, what is the time?
Alexa what is the weather today?
And yet.
Robotics rules, not absolutely but steadily impinging on production and creativity in the workplace and beyond.
As we rest then on the cusp of this improbability comes an author to posit whether this artificial intelligence can itself have a conscience, can discern good and evil, the intrinsic heartbeat of orderly, harmonious existence.
What trancends human intelligence the very fulcrum of our earthly being?
This is the wonderful concept the author explores.
How does Mr Carol do this?
The motherboard of his cyber construct is the storyline where three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffer a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn't spoken since that day.
Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect, Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of.
But then there is Kathy, whose control of the family becomes absolute.
This is the kernel from which this novel grows.
For Kathy (KATI for short) is an awesome, terrifying construct.
Computer Algorithms for Total Intelligence.
The horror comes when total Intelligence morphs into actual intelligence which does not only think and feel but could actually be alive.
It is an extraordinary read.
To extrapolate the narrative would ruin the experience, as would forensic debate on writing style or composition or literary values.
It is more thought provoking than dismissive.
What need for a physical presence ... what need for a body to influence the world you exist in.
In the end , in the reality of the actual world there is need for abstract and emotional intelligence
Therein lies our survival, we may think.
But does artificial think otherwise...?
An absorbing, chilling, thrilling exposition from Mr Carol.