“Trouble Is Near” works wonderfully on two levels: it vividly portrays what life would be like in 2035, dominated by artificial intelligence and robots, and it tells a story so compelling that we forget how scary these realities may be for us. What fun!
John Ross, an AI wiz now retired to the Adirondacks, is asked by his former bosses to help untangle two deaths. Could they really be murder-suicide as determined by the robots used to investigate? And how can we still have serious crime in a world where all our conversations and movements are recorded by the system?
Untangling the mystery requires patience, human brains and our unsung hero, Callistus, a resourceful robot who gets smarter — and develops a sense of humor — as it partners with Ross. The result is a fast-paced tale that will make you think twice about where the AI revolution is taking us.
Dennis Stern, lawyer, journalist, business executive, law school executive, grandfather and also former business colleague and present-day friend