Scythe

Neal Shusterman

Another home run. Very much in the same vein as the Unwind series, Shusterman creates a crazy world that forces us to explicitly engage with what it means to be human. With Unwind, he deconstructs the physical body, asking the reader to consider where exactly a person exists. In Scythe, we investigating the cultural and individual decisions that provide meaning. The context here is a world that is referred to as post-mortal. Science has developed the technology to heal everything. So we are post-disease and any ill that could possible befall a person can be healed. In addition, what we currently refer to as the cloud has evolved into Thunderhead, a benevolent AI to whom humanity has given responsibility for managing all the technical details of life. Governments are no longer needed. In this world, where there is no death, the system has been developed where Scythes are charged with gleaning the human population as a method of population control. This story follows two young teens who are brought into the Scythe apprenticeship program, where they encounter everything you might expect. In many ways, this is a modern The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I love the politics, the teen struggles with violence, the need for purpose in life, how easy it is to slip into a group, etc. All of these struggles are real struggles that seem obvious in an extreme world, but are also real struggles for anyone living in the world today who is concerned with justice and living a life of integrity. A quick read, and great discussions.

As an aside, this is perhaps the first book that has a benevolent AI overlord. No one is trying to overthrow the AI, and the AI has improved life for everyone. I read recently a critique of our fear of AI by Michael Shermer and how many prominent scientists think an out of control AI is the most certain path to human extinction in our future. One interesting point Shermer posits is the difference between a male AI and a female AI. While many AI dystopian futures are predicated on a warrior AI, intent on domination and control (stereotypical male intent), he suggests that it is equally likely that an AI would develop with stereotypical female intent: nurture, collaboration and sustainability. Fascinating. I would say "equally likely" is only true if we get more women involved in AI development (Computer Science and technical fields). The odds of developing a female AI without female coding is nearly nil.

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