Culpability, Bruce Holzinger, author; Stacy Carolan, January LaVoy, narrators
In this novel, a family of five is torn apart by a dreadful, fatal accident involving an elderly couple. The Drummonds were returning from a visit with family. The Cassidy-Shaws were driving to their son Charlie’s final lacrosse tournament before he left for college. Seventeen-year-old Charlie was sort of the driver of their state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle. His mother, Lorelei, and his sisters Alice and Izzy were sitting behind him. Noah, his father, was sitting next to him and was the responsible adult. Each of them, however, was distracted by their own personal toy and interests. Alice was talking to her chatbot. Izzy was texting. Noah and Lorelei were working. Charlie was distracted by his sisters. When Alice screamed in fear from the backseat, Charlie, who had been distracted, jerked the steering wheel disengaging the technology that was controlling the self-driving car. He slammed into the Drummond’s vehicle, ending their lives, and injuring several passengers in his car. He and his father miraculously escaped injury. When any tragic accident occurs, which victims are more important? Does their status change the outcome?
An investigation of the accident ensued. What caused this accident that took the lives of this innocent couple? Was it the driver or the technology that made the wrong choice leading to the tragedy? The Cassidy-Shaws seemed to be quite the stable family from the outside looking in. Noah was a successful lawyer, but he actually felt like he was in the shadow of the brilliant Lorelei and her over-achieving family. Lorelei was a wizard in the field of artificial technology, but she suffered from OCD. Alice was lonely and her closest friend was a chatbot named Blair. Her parents thought she had made a real friend. Izzy, younger than Alice, had just gotten a phone although she was younger than any of her siblings when they got a phone. She had been feeling left out because all of her friends had phones. Charlie was feeling that his workaholic parents were too busy to really notice him and instead were directing him in the direction they preferred.
Each of them was preoccupied with a digital toy in the car as they drove to his tournament. Each of them had a secret that influenced the tragedy. However, what was the real cause? Was it the dependence on the technology? Was it negligence on the part of any of them? Was there any malicious intent? If Charlie had not jerked the wheel, would the AI have avoided an oncoming car or would it have happened anyway? It was impossible to know the answer to that question. What secret did each of them harbor that influenced where to place the blame for the tragic incident? Where should the guilt lie? If a human is not responsible, who is? Is it the programmer or the program? Can artificial intelligence face any consequences or be responsible? Is the business behind it responsible? Is money the only recompense and consequence? What are the legal ramifications of such a tragic event?
Is artificial intelligence ultimately very dangerous? If it is involved, is a human’s interaction immaterial? Who is in charge, the human or the AI program that overrides human choice? Is it possible for AI to make a mistake and fail? Is AI always learning from input? Is it possible for AI to make its own decisions? The book examines the influence of technology. It examines irresponsibility and the danger of depending too heavily on Artificial Intelligence to make the decisions for us. Will it eventually take control of the situation and make the wrong decisions to benefit itself or to encourage a faulty or counter-productive decision? Are drones invading our privacy? What happens when they are in the hands of a child, as if it is a toy? Are they smarter than we are? If AI is used in a home is it listening in to our conversations as well as responding to our commands? If one confides in a bot online, is that information safe? Can it be deleted?
This is a story about guilt and who is ultimately charged when a crime is committed and artificial intelligence is involved. It poses the question of who is ultimately at fault. How is the evidence gathered and responsibility assigned? Is there a rush to judgment? Who determines who is guilty? If the human element was left out of the equation and the AI program had still been active, would the victims of the tragedy still be alive? Are we becoming too dependent on our technological devices? Are we giving up our own autonomy?
This novel is about the unexpected consequences of humans vs robots, of thinking beings vs artificially intelligent beings making decisions. It highlights the relationships between humans and bots, of our own errors of judgment and our vulnerability regarding any information about us in cyberspace that seems inviolable to us but not to the bot. Does the bot control us or do we control the bot? Can the circumstances change making one more powerful than the other depending on the programming? Can a bot learn to overtake and alter its human input? How can AI be used in lawfare or warfare? Can a bot face consequences or is it free from guilt because it cannot be held accountable? Who or what is ultimately responsible if the technology runs amok or goes awry? Who will pay for the tragic results of the failures of the system? The book raises the specter of the danger of artificial intelligence in all our lives if we relinquish control and rely too much on it.