CULPABILITY

This fast paced, captivating family drama by Bruce Holsinger skilfully navigates the converging worlds of Artificial Intelligence and its role in the modern world versus human knowledge - asking the deeply ethical question of who takes responsibility when difficult decisions have to be made.

The Cassidy-Shaw family portray a happy and successful family. Both parents have successful careers, but particularly the mother Lorelei, who is a world-renowned expert on AI. They have three well balanced children and on this particular day, they are heading off on a family weekend away to watch their eldest son, Charlie, play in his final youth lacrosse event before he departs on a sports scholarship to North Carolina.

The mood is relaxed and cheery with Charlie at the wheel of their recently acquired state-of-the-art hands-free SansTrek minivan which their mother had insisted on buying as the safest way of travelling. By Charlie’s side is his father Noah and his mother together with his two younger sisters, Alice and Izzy who are sitting in the back. Everything changes when they have a fatal car accident involving another vehicle driving from the other direction. The fall out of who is responsible for the crash and therefore culpable opens up the colliding worlds of AI versus human control and who is liable when something goes wrong.

Holsinger takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride exploring the human impact of this collision versus the carefully calculated actions of AI as the cause of the accident become apparent. The family become embroiled with the police and lawyers, whilst AI relies on the information it accurately recorded at the time of the accident, unbeknown to the family it is the “know-it-all witness”. Holsinger explores not just human error, but the additional outside forces at play which make the variables complicated. The once happy family become dysfunctional as they individually try to process their involvement. There are twists and turns in this gripping read which is one of the first fiction novels to tackle this unknown future which is inevitably not very far away. Do we need regret and be remorseful for moral growth?

The Den is sure this novel will make an excellent book club read, with much to discuss, analyse as well us giving us a possible insight into the prospect of what lies ahead. The story also throws in a rich and powerful innovator of AI reminiscent of the sudden flux of young and talendted tech entrepreneurs making their fortunes from an industry that they understand so brilliantly. The end of the book goes slightly off on a tangent which offers a rushed glimpse into the future, but overall, this is a highly enjoyable and original read. A novel that will ignite plenty of discussion in book club.