Autonomous
By Annalee Newitz
- Release Date: 2017-09-19
- Genre: Science Fiction
Description
"Autonomous is to biotech and AI what Neuromancer was to the Internet."—Neal Stephenson
"Something genuinely and thrillingly new in the naturalistic, subjective, paradoxically humanistic but non-anthropomorphic depiction of bot-POV—and all in the service of vivid, solid storytelling."—William Gibson
When anything can be owned, how can we be free?
Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane.
Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his robotic partner, Paladin. As they race to stop information about the sinister origins of Jack’s drug from getting out, they begin to form an uncommonly close bond that neither of them fully understand.
And underlying it all is one fundamental question: Is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Reviews
Superb!
5By Ph77Read it.Decent, if flawed take on ai relationships with organics
3By SafeTinspectorThe two stories told here, through alternating viewpoints between a fleeing female human pharma-hacker/rebel and the robotic killer with a human partner who pursue her, entertains in a pulpy, page turning dystopic way. It’s not going to blow your mind, not even as the robot and it’s human partner grow ‘close,’ and it does little to explore the concepts in much depth. But you’ll have a good time and that’s reason enough to buy it.The possible best way to end that book
4By You can call me NicknameThis is an awesome read and totally worth putting your time towards. I don’t get a lot of alone/downtime, but when I did I would flip through a few pages at a time. One thing that captivated me were the detailed intros that seemingly immersed you into he world created by the author and grabbed your attention when the intro subsided into the main plot. Amazing book, really good succinct ending for a story that, even though there were clear evils in the story, the characters inherently felt human. Thanks!Bio-Punk and AI in a Gritty Plausible Future
4By Prairie_DogAnnalee Newitiz has created a near future where big pharma has an hold over most citizens due to intellectual property rights. Pirates make knock off drugs for profit and philanthropy. “Jack” is just such a pirate, operating her stealth submarine in the arctic oceans of a post-greenhouse world. Unfortunately, Jack pirated the wrong drug, and it is causing serious effects. Can she and her open-source friends find the cure before more people are harmed, or the deadly patent law-enforcement officers catch up with them? “Autonomous” is a wild ride, showing us a future different from what many authors envision, but absolutely plausible given current technology and trends. It is a future where humans have developed robotics to a point where AI is commonplace. “Bots” have their own society, and they live, work, and suffer just like humans do. Both humans and bots seek to be autonomous, and this novel explores what this really means. It explores what it means to pursue one’s own goals, and how humans and bots determine what it is they really want.Amazingly written.... makes you wonder about our collective future.
5By Poulin66This was a fun read, entertaining, thought provoking - pirates, economics, globalization, corporate greed, social injustices, anthropomorphization, sexual identity, murder, slavery and indentured servitude... ya it's a lot masterfully woven together in a neat read!TechnoBabble
1By LucykattStilted writing cluttered with techno babble that makes a feigned attempt to humanize relationships between humans and robots, with a sophomoric attempt to blur the line between humans and machines. Like someone took a bunch of meth and wrote some Blade Runner fan fiction.Autonomous, et. al.
5By CYM fanThis author is one incredibly smart young lady who hits the nail on the head in so many ways. I'd love to spend a day with her just chatting about her insight and clarity on the world in which we live.Smut rag disguised as high-brow literature
1By A1995RFrom overtly, embarrassingly sexual language, to severely underwhelming plot, to non-existent character development, this book is a travesty. I love that someone thought to portray non-traditional couples and heroes/heroines, in what I am sure someone hoped would be a popular book... but this is more “Brokeback Mountain feat. Cyborg” than anything that could possibly be taken seriously. I recommend you skip this, and read anything by Andy Weir instead.Wow
5By jd051572This was a great book
