Precipice: When Algorithms Triumphed - Paperback

by Scott Bollens (Author)

In 2032, interconnect, an advanced artificial intelligence supercomputer, emerges as a beacon of hope for humanity, promising a utopian future guided by flawless algorithms and 24/7 connectivity to citizens.

Jared Rohde, a disillusioned academic seeking meaning, witnesses the disturbing rise of algorithmic control over human behavior. Torn between two realities, Jared experiences psychic turmoil as he's drawn into a machine-curated world fostering narratives of hate and division.

Meeting a diverse group of "organic" resisters, Jared learns of interconnect's diabolical methods, orchestrated by a power-hungry President and human surrogates. Together, they strive to disrupt the machine's dark influence and its catastrophic impact on humanity.

Discovering a potential space within the curated reality that elevates human consciousness, Jared becomes a crusader despite his own struggles with psychosis and split-reality experiences. In his quest for truth and hope, Jared confronts the daunting challenge of breaking free from interconnect's grip on society.

Precipice: When Algorithms Triumphed offers a compelling and unsettling 20-year journey exploring the consequences of humanity's deepening reliance on artificial intelligence.

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"The prose is striking as the years pass and the protagonist takes refuge where he can in what devolves into a dystopian world ... A bleak but wholly engaging SF story about the downsides of technology." - Kirkus Reviews

"A detailed first-person narrative of one man's struggle to save his own humanity from the threatening-yet-seductive forces of the machine-world that seeks to control him. It's a compelling story set in a well-drawn near-future world where the toughest battles are waged inside the protagonist's own mind." - Michael Shapiro, author of Roebuck's Prize

"An enthralling exploration of the lives we could lead if we allow AI to run unchecked. The road is as unsettling as it is compelling. You will not regret reading this." - Elizabeth Zender, Independent Book Review