THE ALGO

In Arlow’s dystopian novel, set in the near future, an algorithm aims to optimize and streamline every aspect of people’s lives.

The algorithm that rules this novel’s future society insinuates itself in everything from citizens’ emotional responses to their social interactions and work commutes—all with an aim of maximum efficiency. As a result, people no longer freely emote to one another for fear that they will be interpreted as nonproductive or, even worse, as a glitch in the system. The novel primarily follows Jordan Reese, whose mother was a pioneer of the system that now infests humans’ daily existence. After the algorithm made journalism obsolete, Jordan decided to switch careers and become a coder for what her mom had helped create. When Jordan notices an unprecedented bug in the system, the dark underpinnings of the code begin to become clearer; as her curiosity kicks in, she receives a mysterious and untraceable message asking her an intriguing, and chilling, question: “Are you ready to see beyond the algorithm?” Secrets are revealed as Jordan pulls at the threads of the reality that she’d begun to take for granted. Over the course of this speculative tale, Arlow cunningly reveals the exploitative foundations of a tech-dominated world. What makes the story so compelling, though, is that it isn’t merely concerned with the tech, but also with depicting the very real emotional and human consequences of losing one’s agency. Tech-savvy readers who tend to scroll a bit too long on their phones will find some familiar premises in this novel as Arlow peels back the layers of illusion that empower the real-life algorithms of today.

An engaging cautionary tale of what could lie ahead in a tech-saturated world.