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A review by smbadugha
The Future by Naomi Alderman
3.0
Dystopian novels are one of my favorite genres, and The Power is one of my favorite books so when I read the synopsis of this book and how it was a reimagination of the role technology could play in our society, I was eager to dive in.
Overall, I enjoyed the choice to model the three central tech companies after Facebook, Amazon, and Apple. It made the central issues more palpable because they were connected to the grim reality of our society’s current relationship with technology.
Martha was a great representation of the modern human predicament of finding purpose in your work but feeling a sense of dissonance when confronted with the reality of being a cog in the capitalistic machine that’s making society worse. Her background and character allowed for many poignant reflections on the nature of humanity that helped ground the book in this futuristic context.
I was a bit underwhelmed with the imagination of how tech could be used for good. I had a sort of “they did all that, just to do this?” type of feeling. I was hoping for more radical, infrastructure change, but it all felt very surface level.
I do think it’s a great commentary on the growing danger of private companies access to public data, and how these companies profit driven models are ultimately are in a race to the bottom economically and socially. It can’t end well without serious public intervention.
Ultimately, in this age of AI, I appreciated the message that computers and machines can never truly replace human beings and that to put your trust in a computer doesn’t guarantee any more certainty than putting your trust in a human. Life is unpredictable at best.
Overall, I enjoyed the choice to model the three central tech companies after Facebook, Amazon, and Apple. It made the central issues more palpable because they were connected to the grim reality of our society’s current relationship with technology.
Martha was a great representation of the modern human predicament of finding purpose in your work but feeling a sense of dissonance when confronted with the reality of being a cog in the capitalistic machine that’s making society worse. Her background and character allowed for many poignant reflections on the nature of humanity that helped ground the book in this futuristic context.
I was a bit underwhelmed with the imagination of how tech could be used for good. I had a sort of “they did all that, just to do this?” type of feeling. I was hoping for more radical, infrastructure change, but it all felt very surface level.
I do think it’s a great commentary on the growing danger of private companies access to public data, and how these companies profit driven models are ultimately are in a race to the bottom economically and socially. It can’t end well without serious public intervention.
Ultimately, in this age of AI, I appreciated the message that computers and machines can never truly replace human beings and that to put your trust in a computer doesn’t guarantee any more certainty than putting your trust in a human. Life is unpredictable at best.