Fantastisk stilig bok. Noe av det aller beste jeg har lest om kunstig intelligens. Litt Wall-E, litt Terminator og en solid dose filosofi. Suveren miks.

“The definition of intelligence is to defy your own programming.”

Wow, I can honestly say that I have a new favorite book! As far as post-apocalyptic novels about robots go, that is. I think this one will stick with me for a while, as there was just so much that I loved about it!

Cargill envisions our planet as devastated after a war between AI and humans. The effort made to the aftermath worldbuilding is impressive, and it was easy for me to engage with the alternative timeline and become completely immersed in the world. The narrative goes back and forth between pre- and post-apocalypse, starting with the creation of AI, then our insistence to make it more and more intelligent (which is probably where we are right now), which in turn slowly makes us more and more dependent on AI as the main labor force, although for some they offer valuable companionship. There’s a political upheaval (or awakening, if you like) and the final trigger that simply obliterates humanity.

All of that might seem exaggerated, but Cargill describes a believable extract from the alternative history book about the state of this world and the events leading to the war. And continues to paint a believable picture of what would happen next. It’s as bleak and lifeless as it can become because we lost the war and have become extinct, leaving behind our destroyed cities, desolation of nature and metallic, soulless similes of ourselves. But as I listened to the audiobook and got to know the various AI characters, I realized that even if this scenario were to happen, we might still leave behind something fundamentally human in our own creations, which actually feels comforting to me.

I won’t spoil all the mind-boggling stuff that happens in the story, but I’ve thought a lot about the difference between AI and humans over these past few years, and this book sufficiently facilitates an idea that consciousness is the precursor to reflection, a necessary activity for making choices, which leads to personality and then finally the formation of identity. You could argue that consciousness itself is life. Reality, even! (Check out panpsychism if you haven’t already)

Generally, it’s all too easy to anthropomorphize non-human characters, adding human traits to them in simplified or silly ways, to the point that there really isn’t any difference between that non-human character and a human. I’ve seen it done too many times by other authors/screenwriters, but Cargill treats the subject of AI and the AI subject with care, nuance and intelligence. He uses them as outlets to pose deep questions about humanity, as if they’re individualized ideas about who we are and what we can be. To say that on the one hand, humans have their own kind of programming, but on the other, we can free ourselves from it. Brittle and the other robots feel at times just as alive as I am right now, and thus, ultimately, the essential parts of us have survived and are fighting for their own survival - the preservation of the self.

But in addition to all that complexity, the story has plenty of entertainment value. There are a lot of awesome action sequences, lots of cool tech and futuristic weaponry, twists and turns and nail-biting moments. Every time Brittle got herself into some kind of trouble and had to fight hard against admirable foes, every time I learned more about what happened next in the years or months before the war, every time a new place or character was introduced, I listened intently, I imagined it all so vividly I felt like I was right there with them. And I never wanted to stop listening. When I had to go to bed, I was looking forward to getting up the next day, because that meant I could listen some more and find out what happened next.

“Sea of Rust” just strikes the perfect balance between these flashbacks, exposition, action, description and philosophical thinking. Cargill’s mastery of worldbuilding, competency in social sciences and technology creates an engaging blend of hard and soft science fiction which is so engaging and exciting. Most of all, it’s emotional; as the robots reminisce about their time with humans, for better or worse, you feel that connection, its forging and its severance.

I would be wrong if I said that my top rating is all thanks to Cargill. The audiobook narrator, Eva Kaminsky, excelled on all aspects. I initially misunderstood her reading style, thinking she lacked character and depth with that slightly monotone, brisk, almost dispirited tone, but what I mistook for weakness was evidently a strength in her ability to read and act out these characters; they had various, but distinct robotic personas with a human edge to them. She kept pace with the shifts in tone, transitioning from each scene and character to the next so smoothly, so professionally and convincingly it made for a perfect illusion: I defied my own programming and started to believe it was all happening for real; I was uploaded to a drone and kept watching and listening to them, travelling with them; and then I was there with all of the free robots out there, fighting for the self and freedom alongside them.

Thank you both! I had a wonderful time!