Machine learning, robots, and abuse of power
The novel Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is an all too realistic take on machine learning, leading to the ultimate domestic noir/psychological thriller. Click here for the Science Robotics column discussing the AI science in the novel.
In terms of the domestic noir genre, Annie Bot sidesteps the one-dimensional blatant misogyny motivating husbands’ need to create Stepford Wives or the high tech mogul building an experimental AI tropes. Doug is a C-suite executive, rich but not super wealthy, and he is one of 200 or so others purchasing a robot as a luxury consumer device. Initially, he elicits some sympathy as his purchase of Annie seems to have been motivated by being hurt by a previous relationship (though that sympathy is quickly undermined by a growing realization that Doug was likely entirely responsible for his predicament).
In terms of scifi, Annie Bot has much more scientific veracity and plausibility than other domestic noir robot novels, such as The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney or Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood, and focuses on supposedly normal, long-term domestic relationships versus the uninhibited sex fantasies in Westworld and Ex Machina.
For fans of domestic noir and psychological thrillers, Annie Bot checks the boxes on the tropes and conventions:
naive girlfriend or wife (what can be more naive than a sex robot being trained to be more human-like?)
a psychologically controlling or manipulative husband or partner (where the Pygmalion /My Fair Lady motif crosses over into creepy)
she is trapped in the house, doesn’t get out much, and isn’t allowed internet access
her conversations with others are limited and perhaps even monitored
the partner engages in egregious gas lighting
there’s an unreliable narrator, in this case a literal compunction by Annie to reframe everything in her owner’s best light because her programming forces her to be subservient.
For fans of scifi,
It is told from the evolving point of view of a sex robot that is being trained to be more human. This isn’t as overt as in Flowers for Algernon where we are reading Charlie’s diary and seeing his grammar and sophistication change, but we do witness, and root for, her internal evolution.
The characters are more relatable. Doug is not a tech bro or the super wealthy, but a 2%-er who expects value for his investment and likes to own and show off possessions. More than a cuddle bot, he wants the satisfaction of having something his colleagues don’t have AND having them think it is a real woman, just hotter than their girlfriends. Talk about dominance hierarchies!
It warns about the ethics of abuse of sentience by the company. The company is trying to make money- so it has every reason to ignore Annie’s sentience and any complications that might impact revenue. Willful blindness and confirmation bias rules!
It explores the real-world emerging issue of ethics of replication and who owns the IP. Doug takes credit for the training and results, both out of pride and greed, and no one cares to ask Annie’s permission or consider her role.
A fun twist is that the pathological “training” by Doug may be the reason that Annie makes the jump to being a truly sentient being and has to escape his control.
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