G.A.I.A.

In Wisdom’s SF novel set in the near future, three unlikely figures traverse the landscape in search of salvation after humanity’s devastation of the environment.

Living on the India-Bangladesh border, 17-year-old Asha and her displaced Dalit family are subject to unbearably hot and climbing temperatures, and their struggles are compounded by their limited social capital. She has prophetic dreams and begins to blog about her experiences and her desire to move beyond the limitations of her village to effect global change. On the other side of the world, well-informed radio DJ Chris lives in Gig Harbor, Washington, and questions the world’s tech-industry elite on his show, reflecting on various topics throughout the story. After noting that “today’s blend of technology and complacency feel[s] like a ticking time bomb,” he asks his Harborite listeners, “Can ordinary people like you and me just keep going about our lives as if these threats don’t exist?” After an alarming conference at the Global Alliance of Leaders for Economic Progress, 21-year-old J.T. Girjaghar, the estranged son of a tech billionaire, realizes the harm of his father Geo’s work. His “youthful epiphany” results in him earnestly assembling a team of whiz kids to design an artificial intelligence “fully aligned with humanity’s best values”; soon, G.A.I.A. (the “Global Artificial Intelligence Automaton”) is born. After several trials, Version 5.0 proposes to “create a global network of artificial intelligence agents that will monitor and regulate all human activities that affect the climate.” Although the team pulls the plug, G.A.I.A.’s sentience has already begun constructing this network. As J.T. begins to reconnect with the world around him, he sees the rise of machines clashing with humanity and understands the cost of his invention. He travels, searching for answers among friends, cults, and an AI therapist as his dreams bring him closer to Asha and an apocalypse.

In short, propulsive chapters, the action briskly unfolds, alternating between these three main characters. Radio personality Chris and social media-user-turned-prophet Asha are both well developed and provide anchors for the novel’s many plot strands. J.T., whose abandoned project spirals into G.A.I.A., is a weaker study; despite his acknowledgement of his part in the current catastrophe, his motivations wear a little thin during his lengthy search for selfhood. Wisdom’s text is peppered with news reports and one particularly intriguing subplot sees prophetic visions unite the world. In addition, readers will enjoy the heroes and villains in the text, with contemporary figures present in thinly veiled representations such as Oh!, Lara van Thorn, and Zelon. In the chapter “For the Immortal, There Is No End,” a downfall unfolds that will provide readers with some welcome catharsis. As the endnotes attest, Wisdom is a well-read author with experience in the corporate tech world. However, extensive quotations have a tendency to clutter the text and, despite the urgency of the message, risk turning a fictional story into a lengthy lecture on the dangers of AI.  

An often thought-provoking vision of a dystopian future that’s not too far from our own.