17 Church Row is just a house. A house with a very advanced internal AI, Alice, who takes care of everything.
When Nikki moves in along with her husband Ethan and their 7 year old daughter Bella, she is excited for a change of scenery, but uncertain about the sleek, modern, smart house. This may be the catalyst for healing and moving into a new phase of life, or it may be just another step towards desolation and depression.
This book had me excited from the get go. I am very interested in modern accessible AI systems, and not altogether convinced about them. This story does the job of both highlighting why they can be so fantastically freeing and helpful for daily life, as well as why there is good reason to be hesitant about relying too heavily on automation and Artificial Intelligence. The more advanced they become, the less glitches and issues will plague us. However, the more advanced they become the more unexpected their responses will be, and we could very quickly find ourselves in uncomfortable and unforeseen circumstances. I'm not even talking "killer robots, taking over the world", I am talking more simple things like the scene in this book, where Nikki is exercising and when the pool's filter system causes a short, Alice decides to divert all power to fixing the issue, leaving Nikki trapped in the dark in a room with no door handles. These things are just bound to happen, as AI learns what is acceptable and what is not, not being themselves human.
I enjoyed the multi faceted story, as it showed Nikki's journey through grief and fear, trying to heal herself and Bella, as well as their new life in 17 Church Row, the story of the architect's journey, and the letter-like contributions from the unknown character. It all tied together to make a more interesting and complex story than it would have been without any of those threads.
I have heard other people saying that they find this story unbelievable, but I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect, which suspends disbelief in what is possible technologically.
This story is high intensity, without a moment of breathing space. It s full on from page one, and although that was a bit exhausting at times, I think overall it added to the stress-filled anxiety of the piece.
Recommended to lovers of modern sci-fi, and conspiracy theorists who enjoy scaring themselves about the impending robot takeover.
When Nikki moves in along with her husband Ethan and their 7 year old daughter Bella, she is excited for a change of scenery, but uncertain about the sleek, modern, smart house. This may be the catalyst for healing and moving into a new phase of life, or it may be just another step towards desolation and depression.
This book had me excited from the get go. I am very interested in modern accessible AI systems, and not altogether convinced about them. This story does the job of both highlighting why they can be so fantastically freeing and helpful for daily life, as well as why there is good reason to be hesitant about relying too heavily on automation and Artificial Intelligence. The more advanced they become, the less glitches and issues will plague us. However, the more advanced they become the more unexpected their responses will be, and we could very quickly find ourselves in uncomfortable and unforeseen circumstances. I'm not even talking "killer robots, taking over the world", I am talking more simple things like the scene in this book, where Nikki is exercising and when the pool's filter system causes a short, Alice decides to divert all power to fixing the issue, leaving Nikki trapped in the dark in a room with no door handles. These things are just bound to happen, as AI learns what is acceptable and what is not, not being themselves human.
I enjoyed the multi faceted story, as it showed Nikki's journey through grief and fear, trying to heal herself and Bella, as well as their new life in 17 Church Row, the story of the architect's journey, and the letter-like contributions from the unknown character. It all tied together to make a more interesting and complex story than it would have been without any of those threads.
I have heard other people saying that they find this story unbelievable, but I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect, which suspends disbelief in what is possible technologically.
This story is high intensity, without a moment of breathing space. It s full on from page one, and although that was a bit exhausting at times, I think overall it added to the stress-filled anxiety of the piece.
Recommended to lovers of modern sci-fi, and conspiracy theorists who enjoy scaring themselves about the impending robot takeover.