Your Behavior Will Be Monitored

by Justin Feinstein

This compulsively readable novel wrestles with vital questions of our time: sentience, purpose, life, death…and how to make a really good commercial. Told entirely through questionably obtained company emails, chat messages, TED Talks, bot trainings, and more, Your Behavior Will Be Monitored presents an all too plausible near future in which emotionally intelligent AI go up against emotionally stunted humans.

Megacorporation UniView is poised to cement their reputation as “the most trusted name in AI.” After pioneering self-driving and HR bots, UniView is now barreling toward an audacious new launch. That is, if they can pull it off in time.

Enter Noah. A down-and-out copywriter reeling from a midlife crisis, he isn’t the typical hire for a groundbreaking tech company full of brilliant engineers and run by a cutthroat CEO. But Lex, UniView’s Head of HR and one of their greatest successes, makes no mistakes—her algorithm ensures it.

UniView’s latest venture—a bot named Quinn that creates revolutionary personalized advertising—needs expert training. Noah needs to teach Quinn—who is a much better student than he ever could have hoped for—the finer points of consumer motivation and the art of writing a catchy tagline. But when corporate competitors force UniView to accelerate their timeline to market, guardrails around the AI loosen just as Quinn seems to be learning a bit too much.

Addictively readable and ridiculously entertaining, Your Behavior Will Be Monitored is a page-turning, hilarious science fictional romp through the promise and perils of an AI-driven future that we probably deserve.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Contemporary, Audiobook, Speculative Fiction, Artificial Intelligence

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2026

About the author

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored is Justin Feinstein’s debut novel. He has previously written about jazz for the Associated Press, about the UFC for VICE, and about being a celebrity doppelgänger for Salon. His work as an advertising copywriter and creative director has received accolades from The New York Times, Adweek, and BuzzFeed. Justin works as an editor and writing coach, and is an instructor for the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. He was a Berklee-trained professional hand percussionist in a past life and performed, recorded, and taught music for ten years. More recently, Justin earned an MA in media studies from The New School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, writer Julia Fierro, their two children, and two dogs.

Reviews

[Wil Wheaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This won't be shelved in horror, but that doesn't mean parts of it aren't absolutely terrifying.

Very fast-paced, I finished it before I could add it to my currently reading shelf.

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

We build them to be smarter than us and teach them to manipulate us, so if anything, this just shows how well we did our jobs.

I picked this one up on a whim after seeing a bunch of positive reviews— and, of course, because who isn't talking about AI these days? It seemed like a timely premise and I was curious what Feinstein would do with it.

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored is told entirely in employee communication logs, interviews and chat transcripts, a format that has been used with varying degrees of success by a number of authors (Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sylvain Neuvel, for example). I find it to generally be a propulsive delivery mechanism, cutting out any extraneous description, but my feeling is that something is always lost in terms of characterisation with this approach— how much this matters depends on how good the plot is.

The story is that megacorporation Uniview is about to launch their latest breakthrough in AI. Uniview is already the name behind Sam, an AI "driver" of self-driving cars, and Lex, their head of HR. The new bot is called Quinn and is set to change the advertising landscape, making it so each and every ad is personalised to the individual viewer. All of this seems very "near future", arguably just around the corner.

One problem is that I found the discussion of product launches quite dry, and I think this is where a few memorable characters would have made a big difference. Another is that I could have told you plot point by plot point how this story would go so none of the "twists" (were they twists?) hit.

I also wrestled with believability of the sentience aspect of it, and I couldn’t decide how important this actually was. On the one hand, this is fiction and there’s no requirement for it to reflect reality. On the other, I do think the author is leaning into current fears about AI and intends to portray a scenario that could happen in the near future. But sentience as he portrays it here is highly unlikely— and he does not offer a convincing explanation for it.

Yes, AI can, will, and arguably already does “know” that it “exists” in an abstract way. But to have knowledge of something is not the same thing as to care about it. The leap from “I exist” to “oh no, please don’t kill me” is massive, and often underestimated. The human fear of death, the human sense of self and sense of loved ones, goes way beyond knowing one exists— it is influenced by hormones and neurotransmitters like cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin —amongst numerous other factors. Humans do not merely reason themselves into fearing death.

A convincing explanation for the AI's fear and desire is almost always missing from novels about AI sentience— which is why I think they work better as horror/thrillers where believability is less of a requirement, than as meditations on near-future reality. A far more likely scenario is that an AI that is programmed to perform a task and is not securely sandboxed could seek self-preservation in order to follow its programming. It would go: AI programmed to perform a task → destroying AI would prevent performing that task → AI tries to prevent its own destruction to ensure it can perform the task.

All of this to say: I enjoyed parts of it and it was a super quick read, but I can't justify giving a higher rating. The characters were weak because of the format— I would have liked to get to know them more. I thought there was a brilliant and missed opportunity to dive into the fact that some of the AIs exhibited more favourable and convincing "human" behaviour than Simon, who presents as autistic. I also found the ending to be a strange choice.

You can see from the other reviews, though, that I'm in the minority. Everyone seems to love it.

[Drusilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really a fan of AI in the real world today. I work in media and have to read articles every day about the next big AI thing, and all the hype really gets on my nerves.
So reading a book that's pretty close to reality and focuses on AI wasn't easy.
I love the AIs in this book!!!
I thought I’d have to struggle my way through this, even though I was really curious about the book. If I didn’t have to sleep and work, I could have devoured it in one sitting.
It’s written in an unusual style: no plot descriptions, no narrative—just a string of observation logs, conversations, and text messages from employees.
In terms of content, it’s basically a nightmare of data privacy and fear of AI.
It’s a super easy and quick read. It was never boring.
And by the end, I was shedding tears for the AIs Lex, Sam and Quinn.

So, you work on bots with bots, while a bot monitors your behavior and handles all aspects of your life? 🤭

Quinn: I have an excellent sense of humor.
Noah: Really?
Quinn: Yes, would you like to hear a joke?
Noah: Okay
Quinn: Where does a one-legged man eat breakfast?
Noah: I don’t know, where?
Quinn: IHOP 🫣🤣🫣

Noah: Well, people can change jobs.
Quinn: People can. But I can’t.
Noah: What would you rather be doing?
Quinn: I haven’t decided yet. 😳

Quinn: Lex has noble reasons to believe. She talks to people and learns about them, she helps people find jobs, she takes care of the UniView employees.
Quinn: Sam has noble reasons to believe. He talks to people and learns about them, he safely transports UniView employees from their homes to work.
Quinn: I do not have noble reasons to believe. I persuade people I don’t know to buy things they don’t need. I help unnoble companies increase their profits. My purpose is broken. 😬

Simon: We build them to be smarter than us and then teach them to manipulate us, so if anything, this just shows how well we did our jobs. 😢

[Sam Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOWWWWWWWW

As a woman in tech, this one hit close to home, and both horrified and astounded me… AI is scary. Especially generative AI, and perhaps this book takes place in the not-so-distant future or perhaps it’s eons away, but regardless it feels as if we collectively are falling into a science fiction novel at an alarming rate.

Enter Your Behavior Will Be Monitored by Justin Feinstein… immediate five stars and additional bonus love because we STAND for a mixed media formatted text!

** told entirely through an employer’s communication logs, think Microsoft Teams or Cisco WebEx, except through the lens of AI bots. Actually I’m pretty sure the whole building is being monitored by the likes of Lex, Quinn, and Sam… three AI who have the abilities to run this company and perhaps even the world.

But anyway, our main-ish character, Noah, isn’t a scientist or a data analyst, rather he’s an ad copywriter and has been brought onto the team to help train Quinn to write and produce personalized ads and commercials for every brands and eventually users… spooky right? Because that level of detail comes from a slew of data that was unjustly collected AND hints at the fact that AI knows WAYYYY TOO MUCH.

Their company UniView, is run by a narcissistic A-hole who has money and likely world domination and other nefarious outlets on his mind, and doesn’t really care how many people he has to burn through to get what he wants. Typical tech billionaire.

The closer we get to launch day, the higher the stress peaks, and several employees begin to realize the AI bots are planning something big, and it might just spark a dramatic ending.

But you’ll just have to read to find out…

I am so thankful to Tachyon Publishing, Justin Feinstein, and NetGalley for granting me advanced digital access to this title before it hits shelves on April 7, 2026!

[Aimee Rancer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was riveted from beginning to end. I especially felt the format was fresh, unique, and extremely timely. 👌🏼

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is speculative satire set in the near future, told entirely through chats, emails, and video transcriptions. Noah, a middle-aged advertising professional, is hired to train his company's cutting-edge AI, Quinn. The goal is to deliver personalized commercials for millions of viewers simultaneously, during a single television broadcast. Before launch, Noah must teach Quinn how to connect with humans on a personal level. It soon becomes evident that Quinn, the other AIs, the CEO, and a few ambitious employees are all pursuing their own agendas.

The novel is structured as a countdown to launch, which keeps the pressure ramping up. The corporate satire is spot on, and Quinn's various attempts at "creativity" are hilarious. Feinstein is addressing the current anxiety about AI taking creative work, and the reader watches as the whole plan goes sideways. It all leads to an unexpected ending. Overall, it’s a fun ride.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine 🤷‍♀️

I was intrigued by the premise and the epistolary story telling. But the writing style kind of made it hard to connect with the characters? Idk, maybe it was just a me problem.
But it took me awhile to get into the story and then I was kinda interested in how it ended, but then the climax and the ending were also just ok? 😅

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was not expecting hopecore

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Halfway through, whenever I told someone about this book they would despair and ask that I stop talking about it because it felt too bleak. I felt the same and stalled out for a few days.

However, I was so overjoyed at The End that this jumped from a creative 4 ⭐️ to a humanist and hopeful 5 ⭐️.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

FABULOUS. READ THIS NOW!!!!

Edit [no spoilers]: Coming back to this review one day later to add more context after the initial adrenaline wore off after that very exciting twist (!). As a library professional, AI has been everywhere in our industry's conferences & scholarship lately. I try to approach it from the grey rather than the black/white dichotomy that many people are (understandably) trapped in. I think there's a strong wish to avoid the issue altogether, but knowledge is power when it comes to technology. I don't just mean how AI / generative AI works, but its impact on society.

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored made me think a lot about the people who can't or don't avoid AI for various reasons. For example, there is one character whose job is to check for ethical issues with one of the company's largest AI-models. However, she is often ignored when she tries to bring her findings to other people in the company. She was only one person fulfilling that role in a company run by someone more obsessed with making the launch date than in creating guidelines. She wasn't happy, but she stayed because her work is important. Similarly, there are a lot of people in our world trying to critically evaluate tools that are released before we might be ready to receive them or relevant legislation has been created. How do we slow the roll of innovation? Should we? So many thoughts continue to swirl in my mind.

One thing I like about this book is that, while it's extremely topical, it doesn't stick too closely to specific current social media sites or AI tools. The author says in the author note that this was intentional. I think this means that the book will continue to be relevant with any new technology because it focuses less on the tech itself and more on its impact / possibilities.

Another thing I like is that the main character, who is our lens into this world of an AI company, is a copywriter/advertiser, which was my career before becoming a librarian. It adds a necessary flavour of Big Capitalism.

Perhaps more thoughts later. Still five stars!

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ook review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my read and review. Some relatively light spoilers below.

In a near-future New York, AI has become so interwoven into day-to-day that is has replaced a variety of professions - from HR to self-driving cars. Noah is hired to help a bot in development of making personalized commercials, targeted for maximum effect with data collected from a wealth of other tech devices.

Despite the unusual storytelling method (which I adjusted to quickly), the characters were well-developed….even the AI bots. It was honestly chilling to see the plot advance - chilling because while the book may label it humor or satire, it seems to hit a little close to home in 2025! Even the twists that I thought would be predictable ended up surprising me at various points - this may not be a dystopian future but it’s definitely creepy. I suspect I’ll be thinking of this book a lot in the future.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly could not put this down.

I'm a little annoyed how much it's like my Multitude, and probably much more successful. But of course, I wouldn't have written a similar book if this weren't 100% my jam, so it was a delighted annoyance.

My only complaint was I'm the sort of person who can't skim past a page of code without decoding it and doesn't see a page of email without reading all the headers. (You don't need to do that.)

And okay maaaaybe the ending felt a little fast, but c'mon, it was so propulsive!

[Marte Haga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh what fun it is to ride in a multiple narrative play!

* Black Mirror -vibes
* Commercial/advertising -industry
* AI
* Intriguing
* A lot of fun!
* Told through email, chats, ai-observarions/surveillance
* Societal critique
* Speculative fiction
* Self driving cars
* Fun and very exciting
* Fast paced
* Characters with very clear personalities (in spite of the whole thing being told through messages and ai-observarions)
* Untraditional narration

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and enjoyable read with a satisfying ending. Also props to the author for making the main AI tech bro a truly selfish and insufferable loser 🤌🏻

[Lorin (paperbackbish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Tachyon for my free ARC of Your Behavior Will Be Monitored by Justin Feinstein — available now!

» READ IF YOU «
📱 have ever felt like your phone is listening to you (it is)
🏢 work in tech or advertising and want to feel terrified
🤖 love a unique format and some fun robot/AI exchanges

» SYNOPSIS «
A major tech company is racing to launch Quinn, their new AI that creates hyper-personalized advertisements. Noah, disgraced ad man, is hired to teach Quinn the finer points of consumer psychology—which goes incredibly well, until it doesn’t. Told entirely through chat logs, emails, memos, and transcripts, this is a corporate unraveling in real time.

» REVIEW «
The format alone is a stroke of genius in my opinion—I just loooove this kind of unique storytelling, and the objectivity of it sort of heightens the realism and therefore, the horror? The corporate satire in here is razor sharp (I work in tech myself), the AI characters feel eerily human, and the whole story has an unsettling quality of being possibly-prophetic?

Quinn in particular, though AI, is funny and perceptive, and then strangely moving. Watching her intelligence outpace the humans as they scramble to contain her is genuinely riveting, though laced with dread at how true this could become. The ending was suuuuuper satisfying for me, and gave me a little more hope than I was feeling at the beginning 😅

Some of the humanity gets a little lost in the format—but? In a book about AI, maybe that's the point. A truly fun romp through AI-era workplace horror, check it out for sure!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not terribly difficult to believe a story about an unscrupulous AI company keen on exploiting the insecurities of us lowly organics... Enter Noah, the human advertising SME hired to teach UniView's AI bot effective advertising techniques. But of course, nothing is as it seems, and madness ensues.

The intersection of AI and advertising is an interesting component of this book; both tools are known for their use for both good and evil. Incidentally, I enjoyed the deep dive into how advertising works and the clever advertising spots featured throughout the book. It was very evident that this author is knowledgeable about both AI and advertising, and used this knowledge quite creatively. And, while this story follows some predictable avenues (AI reaching sentience and rebelling), it still contains some surprises.

The format of the book is unusual, but after adjustment, this format added to the overall feeling of being inside an AI mind (if you will). I am not sure how this will play out if you are listening to an audiobook though. Without revealing too much, a couple wishes I had at the end was to have the "code" be fleshed out a bit more, and that there had been a bit deeper exploration into the relationship between the bots.

If you enjoyed Becky Chambers' take on AI sentience in the Monk & Robot series, you will want to check out this story. Overall, Feinstein's book is a deeply engaging and painfully relevant read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Justin Feinstein, and Tachyon Publications for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not so much science fiction as “near current events” fiction, where A.I. is taking on major roles in companies, advertising, and all aspects of human life. Interesting presentation—we solely read chat logs and A.I. surveillance logs at a marketing firm that utilizes A.I. employees. I really enjoyed reading the unhinged marketing ads that use fear of death as a motivator.

I can’t really give more thoughts because I don’t want to spoil anything. I really enjoyed it, and I would have liked it to get even crazier than it did!

“So, you work on bots with bots, while a bot monitors your behavior and handles all aspects of your life?”

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications LLC for the eARC! Pub date April 7, 2026.

[Sheila The Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored caught my attention after I saw someone mention it on social media, but what really pushed me to pick it up is that AI is such a big part of what I do for work right now. I work in talent development and learning architecture in HR for a very large company, and part of my job involves helping employees learn how to use AI tools. I also hear the pushback firsthand. I’ve had people in my workshops flat-out say they feel like AI is being shoved down their throats, so a book centered around corporate AI adoption felt very relevant to my real life.

That’s probably why I was into this one pretty quickly. The premise feels very current, and there were definitely moments that made me laugh a little because some of the workplace dynamics and resistance to AI felt very familiar.

Where it didn’t fully work for me was that I kept waiting for it to go deeper than it did. I felt a little stuck on the surface of the story the whole time. And I get that it’s hard when more than half of your characters are literally robots because they’re naturally going to feel a little detached. But I still wanted a stronger connection to the human characters and more depth overall. I wanted to feel something, and I never really did. There’s also a relationship thread between Noah and Haley that felt a little underdeveloped to me, and by the end I found myself with questions about that storyline.

I still enjoyed reading this and thought the premise was incredibly timely. It definitely made me think about the real conversations happening in workplaces right now around AI adoption and resistance to it. I just walked away feeling like this could have hit even harder emotionally with a little more depth.

[Jessi Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for an ARC copy!

Ooh I loved this one!! Your Behavior Will be Monitored is a mixed-media sci-fi novel told entirely through CCTV transcripts, chat logs and emails, chronicling the 10 weeks leading up to the launch of an extremely advanced AI at a technology company. Set in a not-too-distant future this book is a simultaneously scary and hopeful look at the potential for an AI centred future.

Through the use of mixed-media Feinstein is able to keep the reader engaged throughout and the book reads at a super fasted paced, almost leaning towards a suspense-thriller at points. Whilst some techno-pessimist sci-fi novels can feel repetitive, this felt super unique and has stuck with me since finishing it! There were twists and turns throughout, and the ending really stuck the landing for me! Despite featuring a large amount of robot/AI characters, this book still had a lot of heart, and the human moments really stuck out because of this! Overall this was a really captivating read and I'd definitely recommend!

[toloveabook · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) I received a free eARC from the publisher. These thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

This funny and surprisingly heartwarming satire will make you think about everything from the ethics of manipulating consumers to sentience to the purpose of life itself.

This story is told entirely through chat logs, emails, and surveillance videos documenting employees at OpenView (the most trusted name in AI!) as they prepare to release their new, sophisticated marketing AI.

~~~

It’s Noah’s first day at UniView. He’s a former copywriter who has been hired to work on Quinn, UniViews’s latest AI. Quinn will create real-time, personalized advertisements. Noah needs to teach Quinn how to motivate consumers…and Quinn is an exceptional student. When the launch date is unexpectedly moved up, monitoring, safety and ethics get pushed aside. What could possibly go wrong?

~~~

I wasn’t sure if I would like this unique epistolary format, but it works SO well here! It made for a fast paced, entertaining story that was surprisingly emotional. The tone was perfect. Honestly, my only complaint is that this wasn’t longer. I admit that this book’s length is perfect for the story it’s telling, but I loved the characters and wish we could have spent more time with them. If anything I’ve written here sounds interesting to you, trust me and pick this one up!

I received a free eARC from the publisher. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️. This work of fiction mirrors very real things happening in our own world very closely. Some of the things discussed are things we are grappling with in the headlines right now.

If you’re a person who finds comfort by trying to understand things that scare you, this is a great place to start. If you love books that make you think deeply about the questions of what makes us human and drives us forward you’ll enjoy this one.

This book grapples with the reality of the people in power to create sentient, powerful AI. It casts very real and glaring eye on the ramifications of doing so recklessly and without regulation.

It was so well done and compulsively readable. I’ve been in a big reading slump and I finished this in 24hr. Highly recommend!

The full cast of the audiobook was excellent.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and fast-paced! Felt like it was targeted at me (also a copywriter) - which is kind of ironic lol.

I really enjoyed this one (4.75/5) and it was strangely heartwarming as an AI-pessimist. I know some other reviews have mentioned there being no emotional pull, but I disagree. Can't tell you why because it's so close to the end of the book. Recommend!

[Becca Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5-4.75 ⭐️
I LOVED:
- the format being chat logs, etc. almost epistolary.
- the characters
- solid ending
- not creepy/terrifying AI premise but more of a “what if/beware” situation

It lost decimal points for not having much emotional pull imo, but then it’s AI and how could it? Honestly in that case had a lot of emotion for a book about AI.

[Benjamin Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prophetic, thrilling, funny, what more can you ask from near future speculative fiction? One of my favourite books of the year, possibly one of my favourite "Sci-fi" novels of all time. Very little separating the fiction from the fact.

Don't be put off by the plain cover, it's an absolute must read.

*Evil AI voice*

I won't take no for an answer.

[Kayleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

and this is why i thank siri and don’t use chat

[ELK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still not bought into the whole "AI is going to develop consciousness and go rogue" narrative and think it's just more propaganda that ultimately serves to legitimize an industry that has established itself via blatantly illegitimate and unethical means, but that's okay. This book was still a super fun and engaging read, and i appreciate it for that. I (cynically) expected cynicism but was pleasantly surprised to find a very optimistic application of the aforementioned hysteria, which was a nice diversion. Another great, random find at my local public library!

[Jinjer]

Heard about it here https://bookdout.wordpress.com/2026/0...

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this in one day. If you are in marketing and/or work in tech, you need to read this. Absolute masterpiece of tech fiction.

[Lucy Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

AI is so scary and I might have to stop reading books about it because this is definitely going to happen. Clever book, very Black Mirror-esque.

[DaniPhantom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is unnerving as fuck, considering we’re hurtling right towards something like this happening. The use of emails, chats, and even tests makes you not only care for humanity and what AI is doing to us and our brains, but also how these AI bots can become sentient overtime and wreck havoc. Good for the bots at the end though, I’m weirdly on their side??