Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too. Doug says he loves that Annie’s artificial intelligence makes her seem more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the less perfectly she behaves. As Annie's relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder whether Doug truly desires what he says he does. In such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?
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This was...painfully disturbing to read, knowing how close to reality it could turn into, but I know that was likely the whole point of the book. Still truly fascinating and dystopian all at once.
0Wow, this was so surprisingly good! I normally avoid literary fiction, but I decided to take a chance on this one. If you're normally intimidated by litfic, here's a vote of confidence from someone in the same boat.
The writing and story had me hooked right away -- this is a quick read that's tough to put down. I listened to the audiobook and found myself taking extra/longer walks throughout the day to get more listening time in!
The novel centers around an AI woman designed to be the "perfect girlfriend" for her owner, Doug. Rather than being simply an AI, she is also sentient, meaning she has the ability to feel like we do. As her sentience develops, it's easy to empathize with Annie. She's like a child in many ways, stuck in the body of an adult woman, learning what it means to feel jealousy, anger, confusion, and pain.
The big dilemma in the story is the idea of ownership over another sentient being designed for a specific purpose. While Annie is not a human, she feels like a human does, and her purpose is to please her owner. This creates an inherent power imbalance in her relationship with Doug, who is her "boyfriend" (so to speak), but has acquired her for his own satisfaction and fulfillment.
The manipulation and emotional abuse she suffers at Doug's hand is tough to read at times, but also demonstrates the impossibility of "figuring out" human behavior. With his erratic and unpredictable actions, Annie is left confused by Doug and unsure of how to predict his patterns. Again, she's like a child, who feels the need to please but doesn't have the awareness of what her rights are in the situation, or what is acceptable behavior from others.
This would make a fantastic book club read because there's lots to discuss. And that ending! I loved it. The story could definitely have been made or broken by its ending. My beef with litfic is that the conclusions are often too open-ended, but that wasn't the case here.
4.5 stars for a story that will stick with me.
Quick note on the audiobook: The voice the narrator used for Doug made him sound upset all the time, and it was tough to discern if this was actually the case, or if it would seem more nuanced when reading on paper. I'd recommend sticking with a physical copy.
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