Review of Terms of Service

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Andre Francis
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Review of Terms of Service

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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Terms Of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice by Craig W. Stanfill depicts a seemingly utopian future brought forth by significant technological advances, particularly, Artificial Intelligence. Society's oldest moral and material issues have finally been brought under control as people of all variations have been conformed to one belief, U.C.E. Unity, Community, and Equality. This new doctrine is the foundation for the social contract that every citizen has to agree to in order to function in this new society, the Terms Of Service. Derivatives of these terms are outlined by every business and social entity, essential or otherwise, and adherence is strictly enforced. Tireless and emotionless A.I.s make round the clock monitoring both possible and relatively inescapable. We navigate this new and too good to be true world through the eyes of Kim, an A.I. trainer at the Artificial Intelligence Company. She understands the system and her place in it. Kim is trying her best to keep her head down, and quietly move up the social ladder. However, things take an abrupt turn as a series of incidents prevents her from proceeding as planned, or at least, not according to her plan.

To say that this is one of the most well thought out and intelligently written works of fiction, or prophecy depending on how you look at it, would not do this book justice. The way how this warped but plausible reality is depicted, made it easy to visualize the various mental states Kim experienced as she ventured down the rabbit hole. The monotony, anxiety, and desperation were all so vivid. The description of the futuristic appliances, devices, and infrastructure is what you have come to expect from the genre, but there is an element of coldness that is conveyed that really sells how unfeeling and gray this new normal is. The stand out feature is definitely the culture created by the U.C.E. and the Terms Of Service, facilitated by the A.I.s. Technology’s impact on culture never ceases to amaze me, because the U.C.E. would never have been able to enact its policies otherwise. Individuality, personal preference, and choice are sacrificed in the name of ridding society of its bigotries. That is definitely one way to go about it, a twisted way, but the logic is understandable. The A.I.s are where the writer really shines. There is no doubt in my mind that this is his field of expertise. The details of the creation and maturation of the A.I.s had me visualize something similar to a scene from the first Matrix movie.

I am being completely honest when I say that I have no issues with this book. This was peak science fiction, and every chapter had me enthralled from start to finish. Even the aspects of the book that were not so easy to digest, or made me uncomfortable, were executed in a masterful way. Everything worked together to progress the overarching story. The unease actually added to the experience, and further built my anticipation for the next chapter. It wasn’t convoluted, or too complex with its descriptions, and even the more mature content was handled in a tasteful way.

Terms Of Service is currently the best book that I have had the privilege of reviewing. Though I will admit that I am a little biased, as I am partial to science fiction. That being said, I am awarding this book 5 out of 5 Stars. I found zero grammatical errors, evidence of its top notch editing, and I cannot emphasize enough how well thought out this book is. No surprise here that Dr. Craig W. Stanfill has his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence.

I would recommend Terms Of Service to as broad of an audience as possible. I believe that at the very least, it will make the populace a little more conscious about how very possible it is for our currently charged sociopolitical climate, combined with the exponential growth in various technologies can lead to a future non of us are really fighting for. I would especially recommend this to anyone in the S.T.E.M. fields, as they are actively furthering the development of these technologies, for better or for worse. Finally, I would recommend it to those who are influential in the political spheres, maybe a better way can be found before things spiral out of control. Either way, thank you, Dr. Craig W. Stanfill, this will most certainly stick with me.

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Terms of Service
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