Crisis: 2038: A Novel

by Gerald Huff

Fall 2038. A crisis is brewing as increasingly intelligent AIs and robots replace more and more human labor, leading to high unemployment and civil unrest. While politicians and the people remain paralyzed by tribal ideologies, two competing voices emerge with radically different solutions. Sara Dhawan, a brilliant sixteen-year-old girl discovered in a small village in India, emerges onto the global stage with a compelling pro-technology message. But a darker force is emerging. A shadowy group of anti-technology terrorists determined to use any means necessary to stop our merging with and subservience to technology. Over the course of five perilous months, the battle plays out, each side leveraging the latest tech, in-depth VR experiences, autonomous explosive drones, and government surveillance through medical implants. Which path the country chooses will determine whether we plunge into social breakdown or chart a course to a more abundant and equally distributed world.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2018

Reviews

[Linda Curry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thought provoking

This novel presents a very real future where robotics and Artificial Intelligence have allowed most service jobs and manufacturing jobs to be done by robots.

So what happens when jobs are decreasing and people are unemployable? A case is built for a basic income for everyone, funded by the companies that have benefited the most.

Other topics are investigated, too. Where will privacy be when all information is stored on the cloud? How far should national security be allowed to go to keep us safe? How dirty will politicians fight to stay in power? How do we really know who we are conversing with when avatars are as realistic as our actual faces.

I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

I would have given the book 4 stars but it really needed better editing. Some sections dragged and some words were used too often.

[Kylo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read with some points to make

This book is well worth reading. Set in a very recognizable near future, it deftly imagines a world where a variety of technologies we live with today - AI, cloud computing, DNA analysis, drones, quantum computing, VR, big data from social media, and more - have all advanced largely unchecked, as have a variety of social ailments, notably income inequality, the degradation of civil discourse, the concentration of power in corporate hands.

It’s a vivid portrait, and as the title captures, it leads to a crisis situation - to be honest it’s a situation I could imagine reaching before 2038. The book also offers up some solutions from the eyes of various characters across the political and technological spectrum. A strong case is made for Universal Basic Income, and for investing in humanity-centered technology - arguments that could serve us well as we enter 2019.

I don’t want to give anything away - it’s a quick read. Enjoy!

[Aaron Brenneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Chilling and Thrilling View of the Future

Crisis: 2038 is set close enough to the current day that it draws straight lines from current technologies and political developments to create a compelling vision of what the near future could look like. Key figures like Donald Trump and Edward Snowden are mentioned by name. Yet, it is still far enough out that the author makes educated predictions about how things unfold.

He envisions technology-related job loss as becoming completely rampant, with masses of people struggling to find money and meaning in a world where their skills are not in demand, and virtual reality is more attractive than real life. This leads to competing visions, where some want to tear technology down, while others believe it can be made to benefit everyone.

The author's background is as a software engineer at Tesla. The tradeoffs of this are that the discussions of technologies sound like they are coming from a true expert, but some of the finer points of character development and relationships aren't as strong as they would be with the master authors I normally read. Still, the way the plot unfolds is utterly compelling. I would highly recommend this book, and it's of particular interest to people interested in how technology can affect the future of work and politics.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Crisis: 2038" is ostensibly science-fiction, though it may very well turn out to be a visionary forecast of how current trends will play themselves out in the near future. Huff brilliantly captures the despair of displaced workers with nowhere to turn, the inhumanity of a system that renders tens of millions obsolete, the rage of those few who seek to burn it all down, the authoritarian overreach of the law, the partisan gridlock of politics, the intellectual bankruptcy of the press, the hope of activists, the bubbles and moral dilemmas of technologists, and the deep hunger people have for a new way forward.

Crisis has a wonderful cast of diverse and interesting characters from every walk of life, interwoven into a fast-paced story that is as political as it is science-fiction. Just as a work of fiction, it was hugely enjoyable, but it is as warning and prescription that the full value of this book manifests itself. 5/5

[Edward Rodzewich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Political thriller about the future of tech.

I enjoyed this book enough to keep reading but I can not give it a high rating. The characters and plot twists were not very clever or particularly interesting. The story line is possible and the future solutions provided by the hero are being discussed today. The moral was repeated too many times and was not subtle at all.

[Richard I Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it’s truly important for folks who are thinking about it to give this book a good read.

This book is very worthwhile. Some might call it a dystopian novel but I really think it’s a best case scenario for 3/4 of the book. The best we can hope for in 18 years when my kids hit adulthood.

Toward the end it indulges a bit too much in the dystopian and thriller style. Otherwise I’d be rating this at a five.

[Diana Daggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prescient and important work

It is tragic that Gerald Huff died of pancreatic cancer before his novel was published. What is unique about this work is that it respects the points of view of both conservatives and liberals while exposing the harm done by rigid ideologues. The technologies described either already exist or are possible within our lifetimes. Also, the book is a great yarn!

[Jason Fryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable, if somewhat repetitive, look at a plausible future that in many ways has already arrived. It struck me as a researcher or scientist creating a dissertation for methods for navigating the changing world and deciding three quarters of the way through that they could make a compelling novel instead.

[Javier Noriega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aunque la historia deja mucho que desear, describe una sociedad que nos puede hacer pensar.