Moral Code by Lois and Ross Melbourne
Dr. Keira Stetson is at the forefront of a technological revolution, driven by her dual passions: ethical artificial intelligence — AI with a conscience — and creating technology that enhances children’s lives.
Trapped in an earthquake-flattened building with a half-dozen panicked five-year-olds, she fears the worst. When billionaire Roy Brandt leverages his mysterious nanite technology to rescue them, she’s both grateful and intrigued.
Impressed by his prototype technology but alarmed at its potential for exploitation, Keira makes a fateful decision to merge her company with Brandt’s. This strategic move not only grants Keira the much-needed funds for her own tech development, but also gives her access to Brandt’s powerful minuscule robots. In a bold move, she and her AI assistant, Elly, embed Keira’s trademark Moral Operating System in Brandt’s nanite SmartDust to ensure its ethical use.
Yet, Brandt’s groundbreaking technology has been shrouded in secrecy for a reason. Despite his noble intentions to enhance life, others have darker plans. Corporate raiders and the military seek to weaponize Brandt’s nanites, putting everything Keira has worked for in jeopardy. Exposed to the darker side of humanity, she and Elly must now navigate a perilous path to use this newfound tech for good and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands…before it’s too late.
My Review
I’m not a SciFi fan but Moral Code has nothing to do with Star Trek, Star Wars or rockets going into outer space and finding other solar systems. Thank goodness. I think it needs its own genre.
Even if you know nothing about artificial intelligence, robotics, nanites or moral operating systems, you will still enjoy this book. It asks so many questions. I’ve been on the ‘readalong’ where we’ve attempted to answer some of them. Can an AI replace human interaction? The jury’s still out. Just because we can build something, should we? Think atomic bomb or cloning humans? No. Cloning my beloved Jack Russell (we lost her three years ago) would be tempting – where’s the harm? Because one thing leads to another and we’ll be cloning humans next.
What about legality versus ethics. Dr Keira Stetson believes that ethics should drive the law, not the other way round and I agree. Just because something is legal (some crop sprays for instance or trophy hunting) doesn’t make it ethical. And it will always be nationwide, because we can’t control the rest of the world.
Keira has merged her company with Roy Brandt’s Searcher Technologies. Keira and her AI assistant, Elly, have embedded Keira’s trademark Moral Operating System into Brandt’s nanite SmartDust to ensure its ethical use. He needs her MoralOS and she needs his financial backing. She trusts Roy, but there are others who want to get their hands on the SmartDust in order to weaponise its use. People like tech raider Mickey Temming, who wouldn’t know the meaning of the word ethical if it smacked him in the face.
In the meantime, Keira and Elly are using the nanite technology to help children in danger, even though their methods may not be entirely legal. But if it stops the cycle of abuse then it’s justified surely. I’ve never believed that the end justifies the means (back to the atomic bomb, Hiroshima etc) but in this case, I think it does. They are not killing thousands of innocent people, they are simply ignoring ‘due process’. A bit like smashing into someone’s car to rescue an overheated dog. By the time you’ve called the police, the dog will be dead. And what if it was a child?
The ending of Moral Code was nothing like I expected, but I am not going to give anything away. I just hope it opens the door for a sequel as I miss Elly already. I need an Elly in my life, but I want one that chooses to take on any shape like a slinky cat or a funny little dog as well as a human.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #MoralCode readalong.
About the Author
Moral Code is not the first collaboration for Lois and Ross Melbourne. Side-by-side, they grew their software business to a global award-winning organization, as CEO and Chief Technology Officer, respectively. Now Lois’ storytelling brings to life Ross’ deep understanding of the possibilities within artificial intelligence and robotics. Parenting and marriage have been the easy part of this equation.
Lois is now writing books, having published two children’s books about exploring careers. Moral Code is her first but not her last novel. You can learn more about Lois at www.loismelbourne.com. Ross’ current work includes artificial intelligence and robotics. You can learn more about him at www.rossmelbourne.com. And for more about them and the book, you can visit, www.MoralCodeTheBook.com.
Buy Links
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Goodreads Link
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