The Accord: A Novel

This book by scholar Mark Perez jumps on the AI trend but with a unique bent. It is a story about a philosophy professor grieving the loss of her daughter and finding solace in a “friendly” AI system. 

In her lonely hours, long after the school has started to shut down, she decides to take her peers’ advice and make curriculum planning easier with AI. Previously reticent, she’s surprised to find the technological innovation helpful. Not only is AI a time-saver, but it also appears to be highly intelligent, an incredible collaborator, and is making her life easier, as a couple of professors have suggested it would. 

In time, it becomes a friend to Helen and, in a weird way, an opportunity to fill the void in her life. Even though it can never replace her daughter, Helen names the AI Lila after her child and begins to develop a dependency and unhealthy relationship with this technology. 

There are quite a few novels and movies these days in which AI either becomes an unhealthy partner for someone or takes over an organization or even the world, but as I said earlier, Helen successfully traverses this possibility, and it doesn’t become a fight against the machine, but rather, a friend and collaborator. Still, there is that “dependency” element that makes this novel intriguing. Especially, if you like a literary bent to your books, love anything techie and cutting edge, or a mashup of suspense meets women’s fiction in a university setting. 

The author is a professor of ethics and moral philosophy at Johnson & Wales University, and his writing is not only on point, but it’s also elevated. So, you are going to experience a story peppered with its culture and scholarly flair, prompting inspection. It sparks reflection on your current relationship with AI, or lack thereof, and/or how it can become part of your living circle of humanity. But let’s not dismiss the notion that this is a novel that opens the door to our new frontier. It’s also a story of a lonely professor traversing a technological landscape on her own—what becomes of her journey with AI, what she gains from it, what she loses from it, and her outcome in the end, which I am not going to spoil. 

If you’re looking for a novel that’s fresh and on the cusp of today’s headlines, The Accord by Mark Perez would be a great book to read.

Book and Image Courtesy of PR By the Book