Sunday, November 16, 2025

The ethical consequences of AI

Culpability ~ by Bruce Holsinger, 2025, psychological thriller, 380 pages

This is a suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence — and Oprah's Book Club pick after it was published in July, 2025.

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun.  In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work.  Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash.  Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future.  Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive.  And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident — suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal.  When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

  1. My Monday Musing post was about a book by Margaret Atwood, HERE.
  2. On TWOsday, I posted about the second book in a trilogy, HERE.
  3. Wednesday's Word was MaddAddam and the conclusion of that trilogy, HERE.
  4. My subject on Thursday was four science fiction novellas in one book, HERE.
  5. Friday's Book Beginning was about Alexei Navalny's 2024 memoir, HERE.
  6. On CATurday, I wrote about cats again, HERE.  It's a big, heavy cat book!
is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

No comments: