I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I Am AI by Ai Jiang Published by Shortwave Media on June 20 2023
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 80
Format: eARC
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: Ai Jiang explores a couple of current hot topics—AI art and the human versus machine argument—in a short but engaging story that gives readers plenty to ponder.
I Am AI is a short novelette that explores the pitfalls of AI generated art, a quite timely story in fact, since the headlines have been full of outrage lately about AI writing and art. Even more interesting is that the author’s first name is Ai, and she cleverly uses the double meaning of her name and the story’s title to poke fun of that fact. The story also delves into the idea of being human and what that means. In this case, the main character is a cyborg who has been slowly replacing her body parts with mechanical ones in order to become more efficient. It’s certainly not a new theme in science fiction, but Jiang puts a nice emotional spin on her story and it works.
The story revolves around a young woman named Ai who works as an “AI ghostwriter.” I’m interpreting this as someone who pretends to be an AI program and churns out copy for various clients. Ai created an app called I AM AI and it’s very successful. Her clients are impressed that the AI writing is much better than standard AI fare, not knowing of course that Ai is human.
Or is she? Ai is also obsessed with making herself more efficient, so she’s been replacing body parts and organs with artificial ones, little by little. She’s currently trying to decide if replacing her heart with an extra battery will get rid of the emotions that plague her. But being a cyborg has its drawbacks as well. Her internal battery is always running down, and it’s a scramble to charge herself. But she’s lucky because she works outside the grid for a company that doesn’t answer to New Era, the controlling government arm that is making it prohibitive to live and work in the city.
This is very short, so honestly, there’s not much of a plot. It’s almost more of a slice-of-life look at a dystopian world that caters to those who follow the rules (or what the main government thinks of as rules), while everyone else is just trying to survive. Take away the futuristic trappings and you have Our World 2023™, more or less. What I enjoyed about the story was Ai’s emotional state as she struggles to increase her productivity while also trying to stay connected with her friends and coworkers.
I loved Ai’s journey to understanding herself, although I would have liked a longer story with a little more meat on it. Jiang is such a talented writer, I’m excited to see what she does next.
Big thanks to the author for providing a review copy.
Thank you for an excellent review – that actually highlights one of the main reasons why I generally don’t read shorter fiction. It sounds as if this was a cracking premise about a really hot subject (who knew that AI would actually gain such a grip in the creative arts???) and yet, because of the length, aspects of the story were not as fleshed out as they could have been…
A longer piece would have been more satisfying for sure. Maybe she’ll write more (longer) stories revolving around these characters:-)
Oh my, this sounds so good! Ai si a character I would like to get to know more in a full length book too.
Maybe she’ll expand om the story some day:-)
“Her internal battery is always running down” That would be so inconvenient lol! but seriously, I love stories that explore what it means to be human. Or AI. Or both! Sounds awesome and worth a read.
Greg recently posted…To Love Is Human 10
It was so good:-)
Hopefully she will soon write something longer on that topic soon!
Emma @ Words And Peace recently posted…Book review: Skin Deep
I’m sure she will, the last story I read of hers was a novella and I loved it.
What an intriguing concept! And I can read, between the lines, your disappointment that this was not a longer story: give the core idea it might indeed have deserved a longer page count…
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…PRINCE OF FOOLS (The Red Queen’s War #1), by Mark Lawrence #WyrdAndWonder
I think a longer piece would have made the plot stronger, but she still did a great job with the length.
Oh this really does sound like a very timely story indeed. I love stories about AI, I find them really fascinating. Especially nowadays when the technology is on the rise. Great review! 🙂
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Pestilence by Laura Thalassa
It’s a topic I love as well. I’m glad there are so many books dealing with AI these days:-)
This sounds good but I think I would end up wanting a lot more than 80 pages. Very timely storyline though!
It’s very timely and she did a great job with the topic:-)
I love the title and the play on meanings, and it’s a topic I’ve always enjoyed in fiction, both literary and video. I’m currently reading some William Gibson I’d never gotten around to and it’s one of the things I enjoy about his fiction. This one sounds like an interesting take on the topics.
I have never read William Gibson, can you believe it? One of these days…
It’s indeed a very contemporary and hot topic Tammy!
She did a great job with the topic too:-)
Great review–this wasn’t on my radar at all, but it looks interesting and, as you said, timely. It’s such a short read (which is great) that maybe I’ll try to squeeze it in.
It’s very short and easy to squeeze in:-)