Noah Cassidy, a father of three, narrates much of this family story with a very modern twist. Noah was sitting in the front passenger seat next to his 17-year-old son, Charlie, when an accident killed two people in another car. The rest of his immediate family, his wife Lorelei Shaw, and his two daughters, Alice and Izzy, were in the back seat when the accident occurred. Each family member sustained some injuries, and they all experienced emotional turmoil. Of course, this tragic event was difficult for everyone, but complicating the investigation and healing after the accident is the fact that the car Charlie was driving had advanced artificial intelligence (AI) features. There are questions about whether Charlie overrode the AI and who or what was truly to blame for the death of two people. Can AI be culpable?
Holsinger allows us to get to know each family member through the stories the father tells and other documents. For instance, we know that Lorelei is a world-renowned AI ethics expert who has published extensively on the topic. Excerpts from her book, Silicon Souls: On the Culpability of Artificial Minds, are interspersed throughout the novel, helping us understand the moral aspects of AI, related to the family’s car and the accident, as well as broader issues with AI. We also read the text dialogue between young Alice and a chatbot. By piecing the stories together, the reader wonders how each family member experiences culpability.
Noah and Lorelei’s marital dynamics and the sibling rivalry among their children give us pause as we try to figure out how the plot will resolve. There are secrets in this family: between husband and wife, among the children, and between the children and parents. The magnitude of the secrets becomes more apparent as the story progresses and the tension builds regarding the police investigation of the accident and the variables at play.
Family members express myriad emotions during a stay in a vacation rental, especially when they interact with a wealthy family, headed by widower Daniel Monet, who owns a large compound near the property. Charlie begins spending time with Monet’s daughter, Eurydice. Charlie acts cavalier while his father worries about who will be arrested, and then the two families’ paths cross in confusing ways. It becomes evident that Lorelei knows more about Daniel Monet than her family realizes. As the relationships unravel, the story becomes compelling in its exploration of business, research, and modern corporations.
Many plot events are relatable and surround the novel’s main moral and ethical question. Who is culpable for the accident? Can AI be blamed? Does AI have the capacity to save human life? What does parenting look like in the age of AI? How do we negotiate responsibility if we allow AI to make decisions for us? Do people of higher status have different responsibilities in modern society? How do we understand the complexities of technological dependence? Although complex questions arise throughout the novel, it is easy to read and understandable for the most casual reader.
