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Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution
An FBI agent hunts a new kind of terrorist through a Washington, DC, of the future in this groundbreaking book - at once a gripping technothriller and a fact-based tour of tomorrow
America is on the brink of a revolution, one both technological and political. The science fiction of AI and robotics has finally come true, but millions are angry and fearful that the future has left them behind.
After narrowly stopping a bombing at Washington's Union Station, FBI Special Agent Lara Keegan receives a new to field-test an advanced police robot. As a series of shocking catastrophes unfolds, the two find themselves investigating a conspiracy whose mastermind is using cutting-edge tech to rip the nation apart. To stop this new breed of terrorist, their only hope is to forge a new type of partnership.
Burn-In is especially chilling because it is something more than a pulse-pounding every tech, trend, and scene is drawn from real world research on the ways that our politics, our economy, and even our family lives will soon be transformed. Blending a techno-thriller's excitement with nonfiction's insight, Singer and Cole illuminate the darkest corners of the world soon to come.
America is on the brink of a revolution, one both technological and political. The science fiction of AI and robotics has finally come true, but millions are angry and fearful that the future has left them behind.
After narrowly stopping a bombing at Washington's Union Station, FBI Special Agent Lara Keegan receives a new to field-test an advanced police robot. As a series of shocking catastrophes unfolds, the two find themselves investigating a conspiracy whose mastermind is using cutting-edge tech to rip the nation apart. To stop this new breed of terrorist, their only hope is to forge a new type of partnership.
Burn-In is especially chilling because it is something more than a pulse-pounding every tech, trend, and scene is drawn from real world research on the ways that our politics, our economy, and even our family lives will soon be transformed. Blending a techno-thriller's excitement with nonfiction's insight, Singer and Cole illuminate the darkest corners of the world soon to come.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 2020
616 people are currently reading
3550 people want to read
About the author
P.W. Singer
14 books647 followersPeter Warren Singer is Strategist and Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. He previously was Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution and the youngest scholar named Senior Fellow in Brookings's 101-year history. Described in the Wall Street Journal as “the premier futurist in the national- security environment," has been named by the Smithsonian as one of the nation’s 100 leading innovators, by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense issues, by Foreign Policy to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List, and as an official “Mad Scientist” for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. He has consulted for the US Military, Defense Intelligence Agency, and FBI, as well as advised a range of entertainment programs, including for Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Universal, HBO, Discovery, History Channel, and the video game series Call of Duty, the best-selling entertainment project in history. Peter’s award winning books have been endorsed by people who range from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the co-inventor of the Internet to the writer of HBO Game of Thrones.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
June 13, 2020
If you like slow-moving thrillers, then this is the book for you. Do you want to know what research the author did to come up with the ideas and futuristic technology presented in the story? You're in luck! You'll find a footnote on every page or three. Sometimes you'll find as many as three footnotes on the same page. How about sermons? Do you enjoy those? Do you get a chill down your spine when a character spouts propaganda for a full page? You'll be reaching for a blanket in no time!
Okay, that's a little harsh, but really, the book had so much promise. The premise caught my eye. The main character is smart, engaging, and likable. The plot gripped me. I just couldn't get past the stop-and-go of all that infodumping. When I'm reading a thriller, I don't want to drop out to read a historical article or a research paper or get a lecture on computer encryption. It breaks the fictive dream for me. I have no problem with the author noting source material, but it belongs in a list at the end of the book, not scattered through the text. The author wants to sway the reader into like-minded thinking, but it's done in a heavy handed way that I didn't appreciate. Get all that stuff out of the way and tell me the story. The bones are there, but they're masked in such a way that I gave up 30% of the way through.
Okay, that's a little harsh, but really, the book had so much promise. The premise caught my eye. The main character is smart, engaging, and likable. The plot gripped me. I just couldn't get past the stop-and-go of all that infodumping. When I'm reading a thriller, I don't want to drop out to read a historical article or a research paper or get a lecture on computer encryption. It breaks the fictive dream for me. I have no problem with the author noting source material, but it belongs in a list at the end of the book, not scattered through the text. The author wants to sway the reader into like-minded thinking, but it's done in a heavy handed way that I didn't appreciate. Get all that stuff out of the way and tell me the story. The bones are there, but they're masked in such a way that I gave up 30% of the way through.
March 30, 2020
I blurbed this book and highly recommend it: "Burn In is a profound look into an all too believable future, brilliantly weaving together a moving narrative that challenges readers with its mix of robots, AI, and politics. The action is stirring, the characters are all too relatable, but it’s the questions about humanity that will leave their mark, burning their way into your brain and leaving you breathlessly wanting more."
Read
May 19, 2020DNF, stopped at 25%.
One of my favorite books is roboticist Daniel Wilson's Robopocalypse, which is both a pageturner and a truly fascinating (and terrifying) look at AI now and in the near future. Given my love of Wilson's novel, I was thrilled to receive an arc of Burn-In (thank you Edelweiss). Unfortunately, these two titles could not be more different.
Instead of harnessing developments in AI to tell a riveting tale about the future of policing and criminal investigation, as well as society at large, Singer and Cole used the trappings of plot, character, setting--in short, story--as a reason to detail as many AI advances as possible. Every time, a character became relatable or a scene engrossing, the authors would segue into a multi-page treatise on the wondrous capabilities of various forms of AI.
In short, "Burn-In" is all about Story in service to technology, when it should be the other way around.
One of my favorite books is roboticist Daniel Wilson's Robopocalypse, which is both a pageturner and a truly fascinating (and terrifying) look at AI now and in the near future. Given my love of Wilson's novel, I was thrilled to receive an arc of Burn-In (thank you Edelweiss). Unfortunately, these two titles could not be more different.
Instead of harnessing developments in AI to tell a riveting tale about the future of policing and criminal investigation, as well as society at large, Singer and Cole used the trappings of plot, character, setting--in short, story--as a reason to detail as many AI advances as possible. Every time, a character became relatable or a scene engrossing, the authors would segue into a multi-page treatise on the wondrous capabilities of various forms of AI.
In short, "Burn-In" is all about Story in service to technology, when it should be the other way around.
August 16, 2025
What I’ve seen of AI apps like chatGPT isn’t live AI. They are just glorified internet search engines that compose their findings into nice paragraphs. The essential characteristic of AI lies in the ability to learn from mistakes and incorporate those learnings into subsequent queries. Admittedly, the language composition was learned into these apps before deployment, but that’s not the same thing as learning the knowledge imparted in those answers.
All AI systems that are more than deterministic decision trees, require a learning period, known as burn-in. Which brings us to P.W. Singer and August Cole’s 2020 near-future thriller novel Burn-In that features an assistant FBI agent who is an android.
Lara Keegan is an ex-Marine, now an experienced FBI agent. She has a problematic work-life balance issue in her strained relationship with her husband and young daughter. Their life has been dramatically impacted by the economic collapse associated with AI automation, as have many others. She is assigned a new robotic partner, and given mixed signals on what the outcome truly desired by her boss is. TAMS is a humanoid robot, so more accurately should be called an android. After an opening that focuses a little too much on all the shiny innovative police and military technology, and authenticating military jargon, the tension of the situation begins to build. Soon Keegan is being yanked into deeper and deeper levels of conspiracy, and reluctantly becomes dependent on TAMS. The tension crosses into her personal life and operates on several levels at the same time.
I admit that I was thrown off track when I first read a section entitled “Dyzruptor Battleground Quadrant 4”. I did not at first recognize it as a game setting, in which characters who become important later in the book, seem to be playing, while in reality they are communicating in a conspiracy. Without giving any more spoiler than that, let me recommend you bookmark the section because you will want to return and re-read it later.
What the narrative lacks in consistent style, it makes up for in some serious near-future technological and social speculation. Footnotes identify the sources, and they are listed in dozens of pages at the end. Singer is an author of fiction and nonfiction on security issues, while Cole is a writer of narratives about the future of conflict. I needed to repeatedly remind myself that this book was written BEFORE January 6, 2021 and before the new autonomous weapons systems and the tactics that go with them came to light in Ukraine.
This book surprised me, and I raised my ranking from 2 to 3 to 4, as I read it.
All AI systems that are more than deterministic decision trees, require a learning period, known as burn-in. Which brings us to P.W. Singer and August Cole’s 2020 near-future thriller novel Burn-In that features an assistant FBI agent who is an android.
Lara Keegan is an ex-Marine, now an experienced FBI agent. She has a problematic work-life balance issue in her strained relationship with her husband and young daughter. Their life has been dramatically impacted by the economic collapse associated with AI automation, as have many others. She is assigned a new robotic partner, and given mixed signals on what the outcome truly desired by her boss is. TAMS is a humanoid robot, so more accurately should be called an android. After an opening that focuses a little too much on all the shiny innovative police and military technology, and authenticating military jargon, the tension of the situation begins to build. Soon Keegan is being yanked into deeper and deeper levels of conspiracy, and reluctantly becomes dependent on TAMS. The tension crosses into her personal life and operates on several levels at the same time.
I admit that I was thrown off track when I first read a section entitled “Dyzruptor Battleground Quadrant 4”. I did not at first recognize it as a game setting, in which characters who become important later in the book, seem to be playing, while in reality they are communicating in a conspiracy. Without giving any more spoiler than that, let me recommend you bookmark the section because you will want to return and re-read it later.
What the narrative lacks in consistent style, it makes up for in some serious near-future technological and social speculation. Footnotes identify the sources, and they are listed in dozens of pages at the end. Singer is an author of fiction and nonfiction on security issues, while Cole is a writer of narratives about the future of conflict. I needed to repeatedly remind myself that this book was written BEFORE January 6, 2021 and before the new autonomous weapons systems and the tactics that go with them came to light in Ukraine.
This book surprised me, and I raised my ranking from 2 to 3 to 4, as I read it.
May 26, 2020
Fantastic book. A techno-thriller that examines AI, robotics, and unmanned systems and how they will change everyday life. What stands out in this book is the dialogue. It is the interaction of the characters that paints the picture of our future.
June 13, 2020
Burn-In - A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution is a futurist techno-thriller by P. W. Singer and August Cole.
In a near future where technology has advanced, and unfortunately put a lot of people out of jobs, Lara Keegan is a Washington FBI Special Agent getting a new partner, an advanced AI-powered robot she’s to teach in order to maybe pioneer a fleet of new law enforcement machines. While she patrols and avert various crimes, terrorists cyber attacks on the infrastructure start rocking the city. When the events plaguing Washington get linked together, Keegan and her TAMS partner embark on a mission to stop the individuals responsible.
P. W. Singer is a futurist author specialized in national security. August Cole is also a futurist, specializing in conflict. Both have collaborated before on best-selling books, and this is their new novel published énd May 2020. Both researchers are fascinated by their topics and, in the case of this book, maybe a little too much. A lot of time is spent describing in minute details the technology of the world the events occur in. As it can be fascinating in itself, it slows down the story to a crawling pace. Without spoiling anything about the plot, the main antagonist only appears a third in the book, and the actions really starts after the half mark. Then, the story gets really interesting. However, it’s way too late, and some readers might not get that far, especially if they feel the need to read the many notes validating this possible technological future. From a societal point of view, the world seems not to have progressed as much, even if the authors are often on the mark, for example with a bunkered White House, or monuments celebrating those who fought for equality.
This is a book for those who enjoy learning about technology through fiction, but maybe not so much for those liking their techno-thrillers more casual.
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.
In a near future where technology has advanced, and unfortunately put a lot of people out of jobs, Lara Keegan is a Washington FBI Special Agent getting a new partner, an advanced AI-powered robot she’s to teach in order to maybe pioneer a fleet of new law enforcement machines. While she patrols and avert various crimes, terrorists cyber attacks on the infrastructure start rocking the city. When the events plaguing Washington get linked together, Keegan and her TAMS partner embark on a mission to stop the individuals responsible.
P. W. Singer is a futurist author specialized in national security. August Cole is also a futurist, specializing in conflict. Both have collaborated before on best-selling books, and this is their new novel published énd May 2020. Both researchers are fascinated by their topics and, in the case of this book, maybe a little too much. A lot of time is spent describing in minute details the technology of the world the events occur in. As it can be fascinating in itself, it slows down the story to a crawling pace. Without spoiling anything about the plot, the main antagonist only appears a third in the book, and the actions really starts after the half mark. Then, the story gets really interesting. However, it’s way too late, and some readers might not get that far, especially if they feel the need to read the many notes validating this possible technological future. From a societal point of view, the world seems not to have progressed as much, even if the authors are often on the mark, for example with a bunkered White House, or monuments celebrating those who fought for equality.
This is a book for those who enjoy learning about technology through fiction, but maybe not so much for those liking their techno-thrillers more casual.
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.
June 21, 2020
It's the near-future, when electric driverless cars are the norm along with a lot more autonomous machines, and the first potential independent robot is paired with an FBI agent. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with lost jobs. Ready? Go. :) While the first half of the book was slow for me, the second half made up for it. Though Agent Keegan is the main character, we get several points of view during the course of the story.
We are spared massive detail; there are numerous footnotes to the bibliography. The story is 85% of the book. Most of the rest is the reference material.
The editing for this novel was fairly consistent, right up to where there really ought to have been a scene break as we hop from a medical intern's POV to one of the bad guys. Whoops. And then there is another head-hop not long after. That's the biggest flaw.
Why four stars? While this is readable and interesting, Keegan, TAMS, and Todd are the only characters who felt three-dimensional to me. So, while I appreciate the layered messages (tech is here to stay, the general populace is absolutely not in charge of any part of it, and "good" is subjective), it just adds to the plot-heavy, character-light sf that I wandered away from years ago.
We are spared massive detail; there are numerous footnotes to the bibliography. The story is 85% of the book. Most of the rest is the reference material.
The editing for this novel was fairly consistent, right up to where there really ought to have been a scene break as we hop from a medical intern's POV to one of the bad guys. Whoops. And then there is another head-hop not long after. That's the biggest flaw.
Why four stars? While this is readable and interesting, Keegan, TAMS, and Todd are the only characters who felt three-dimensional to me. So, while I appreciate the layered messages (tech is here to stay, the general populace is absolutely not in charge of any part of it, and "good" is subjective), it just adds to the plot-heavy, character-light sf that I wandered away from years ago.
July 6, 2020
Think of the worst, most pedantic thriller you've ever read... ok, now you don't need to read this! Or at least, you know what you're in for.
PROs: > lots of supporting research - there were endnotes on almost every page (though someone should explain to the authors that if you want to get all technical like that, then you might as well go for primary sources over magazine articles). I will go back and look at some of the mentioned articles, so that is nice.
> the role of robots and AI in society is an interesting, important idea to think about.
CONs: > the story
> the characters
> the writing
> the endnotes (although, maybe that is a pro - that they were so distracting from the weak story?)
The title made sense, but the subtitle did not. There was one robot in the book that mattered, and most of the other points were about AI.
This book is a prime example of work that greatly annoys me in the use of a woman main character. Basically every other character in the story is a man (yes, the terrorists were probably going to be that anyway, sadly). I feel like this is one where 2 dudes* were like
Dude #1: "Hey, let's make it a chick, to balance things out!" (or maybe their editor suggested it)
Dude #2: "Yeah, man! Our wives can help us be sure to get that female perspective. We are so enlightened."
-high five-
Some people/authors seem to see themselves as humans first, and they write fairly well for various sexes and genders. But sometimes it is just so obvious that someone defines themselves as a man/woman/CEO/mother/whatever before anything else, and that flavors everything. In this case, the bro-ish perspective is overwhelming.
I happened to pick up The Day It Finally Happens: Alien Contact, Dinosaur Parks, Immortal Humans—and Other Possible Phenomena, by Mike Pearl shortly before I read this book, and I can't help thinking that what these authors were trying to achieve would have been much more easily - and interestingly - presented in a similar format (although that one was not spot on either...who really cares if the British monarchy ends?). Each chapter had a small fictional vignette to illustrate the impact of the idea, and then expanded into the factual basis and implications. That is what it seemed like Burn-In really wanted to be, and it would have been better (and more readable) for it.
If this book leaves you hungry for some well-written, thought-provoking stories about possible futures (robotic or not), then check out these reads:
~ Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
~ Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
~ Void Star by Zachary Mason
~ Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
... and the short stories of Ted Chiang
*as a general rule, any book with more than 1 author that is not an anthology is likely to be lame. So I did go into this knowing...
PROs: > lots of supporting research - there were endnotes on almost every page (though someone should explain to the authors that if you want to get all technical like that, then you might as well go for primary sources over magazine articles). I will go back and look at some of the mentioned articles, so that is nice.
> the role of robots and AI in society is an interesting, important idea to think about.
CONs: > the story
> the characters
> the writing
> the endnotes (although, maybe that is a pro - that they were so distracting from the weak story?)
The title made sense, but the subtitle did not. There was one robot in the book that mattered, and most of the other points were about AI.
This book is a prime example of work that greatly annoys me in the use of a woman main character. Basically every other character in the story is a man (yes, the terrorists were probably going to be that anyway, sadly). I feel like this is one where 2 dudes* were like
Dude #1: "Hey, let's make it a chick, to balance things out!" (or maybe their editor suggested it)
Dude #2: "Yeah, man! Our wives can help us be sure to get that female perspective. We are so enlightened."
-high five-
Some people/authors seem to see themselves as humans first, and they write fairly well for various sexes and genders. But sometimes it is just so obvious that someone defines themselves as a man/woman/CEO/mother/whatever before anything else, and that flavors everything. In this case, the bro-ish perspective is overwhelming.
I happened to pick up The Day It Finally Happens: Alien Contact, Dinosaur Parks, Immortal Humans—and Other Possible Phenomena, by Mike Pearl shortly before I read this book, and I can't help thinking that what these authors were trying to achieve would have been much more easily - and interestingly - presented in a similar format (although that one was not spot on either...who really cares if the British monarchy ends?). Each chapter had a small fictional vignette to illustrate the impact of the idea, and then expanded into the factual basis and implications. That is what it seemed like Burn-In really wanted to be, and it would have been better (and more readable) for it.
If this book leaves you hungry for some well-written, thought-provoking stories about possible futures (robotic or not), then check out these reads:
~ Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
~ Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
~ Void Star by Zachary Mason
~ Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
... and the short stories of Ted Chiang
*as a general rule, any book with more than 1 author that is not an anthology is likely to be lame. So I did go into this knowing...
June 29, 2020
I received this from Edelweiss and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting concept, but took way too long to develop.
The most interesting part is the authors' footnotes on the actual emerging technology that drives the plot.
Interesting concept, but took way too long to develop.
The most interesting part is the authors' footnotes on the actual emerging technology that drives the plot.
September 25, 2021
I read Burn-In in my professional role as futurist. Near-future science fiction - or in this case, near-future thrillers - can be fodder for research. At the same time I can't shut off my lit crit training. Overall, a disappointing book.
Burn-In is a police story taking place in Washington, DC about a decade from now. Our main character is Keegan, a war vet and FBI agent. She's tasked with training a robot on the job. Said job involves defeating a kind of revolutionary plot.
On the positive side, I enjoyed some of the visions for the near future. For example, Keegan's estranged husband gets laid off through automation, but from a while collar job. Now he's working on temporary gigs keeping retirees company on VR. Interesting.
Otherwise, the plots are thin and a bit predictable. The buddy cop routine didn't work for me.
Burn-In is a police story taking place in Washington, DC about a decade from now. Our main character is Keegan, a war vet and FBI agent. She's tasked with training a robot on the job. Said job involves defeating a kind of revolutionary plot.
On the positive side, I enjoyed some of the visions for the near future. For example, Keegan's estranged husband gets laid off through automation, but from a while collar job. Now he's working on temporary gigs keeping retirees company on VR. Interesting.
Otherwise, the plots are thin and a bit predictable. The buddy cop routine didn't work for me.
August 12, 2020
Reads like a power-point review, intended for Marine Corps Captains , that has been fleshed out to book length form. The writing is sub-pulp level, the plot is hardly worthy of that term, and the jingoism is at times distasteful. Some of the robotics ''revolution'' material is interesting, which I suppose is the main point of all of this, but the writing is so abominable is is hard to take it seriously.
August 6, 2020
Bravo! Just when you thought "Ghost Fleet" took the cake, they did it again!! I love that the two main characters, a human and a robot agent, are women. Well done, gentlemen- 5 stars- and keep them coming!
November 6, 2023
DNF about halfway. Not much story going on just the authors trying to paint a picture
June 23, 2024
I mean… they did footnotes Trolls, which is something
February 9, 2021
"Burn-In" is an exciting near-future techno-thriller from the point of view of FBI Agent Lara Keegan as she tracks down the those responsible for a series of deadly disasters in Washington D.C. while showing the ropes to her rookie robot partner, TAMI. The story has extensive footnotes that justify seemingly unrealistic science-fiction-like ideas and technology as being mere cutting-edge technology from the late 2010's. My only complaint is that "A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution" implies a Terminator-like robot apocalypse. Although there were highly capable intelligent robots, biblical calamities, deep societal changes, and deaths in this fast paced thriller, the robots were not supervillains. They were somewhere between useful tools and capable partners.
Although the book wraps up the various near impossible challenges faced by Agent Keegan, I was delighted that the last sentence was a clear lead-in to a future novel. I can't wait to read it!
Although the book wraps up the various near impossible challenges faced by Agent Keegan, I was delighted that the last sentence was a clear lead-in to a future novel. I can't wait to read it!
May 29, 2020
I really like Ghost Fleet by these two, but just could not get into this one. Maybe too technical. It has a great premise and I was very excited to start it, but found myself bogged down by it. Disappointing.
August 31, 2023
I hated it a lot less than “Ghost Fleet”, “2034”, and “2017 War with Russia” … it’s in the cannon with those guys, but I think maybe because I know somewhat less about the tech, I didn’t find it as contrived, or the characters as undeveloped, or the dialogue as pained. I think the development of the authors shows, and I appreciate the use of fiction to identify and get at big and real problems/concerns.
July 1, 2020
In the beginning I was definitely confused. I had no idea what was going on but as soon as the AI machine came in TAMS, I understood. The rest of the book was amazing and I highly recommend it. It was the first book I ever read that dealt with these kind of topics but it was very enjoyable. I would definitely read other books from these authors.
xoxo,
Bea
xoxo,
Bea
July 13, 2020
The most realistic view of what our first encounter with at Robot Partners will be, not quite Data (from Star Trek) not quite an Aibo pet, but something in between; all in a very close near future where people don't blame immigrants for all their troubles, but technology and Automatization.
A lot of interesting concepts on this book!
A lot of interesting concepts on this book!
August 21, 2020
I enjoyed it quite a bit. Similar themes to Lock In by John Scalzi, though Burn-In is nearer-future.
May 19, 2021
Actually a 3.5 but it deserved rounding up because it got better and is hauntingly memorable. I'm pretty sure TAMS is one of the X-men. You know, where it's a Super Hero but you're not quite sure if it's gonna turn out to be good or evil.
I really enjoyed all of the techno talk, but the set up/getting us acclimated to the futuristic state was sometimes painful. I loved how realistically the tech picture was drawn. And I also appreciated all the (real) DC landmarks.
I really enjoyed all of the techno talk, but the set up/getting us acclimated to the futuristic state was sometimes painful. I loved how realistically the tech picture was drawn. And I also appreciated all the (real) DC landmarks.
January 28, 2024
This is a great story full of character development that introduces the reader to the potential implications of further integrating technological advancements into society. Fun read that teases out some technological ethical dilemmas.
October 17, 2020
Good book. Starts a bit slow and drags but then picks up really well.
March 27, 2024
Very interesting concept here. I can see a lot of parallels to the world we live in today written here. Especially within the notes…WOW!
All in all definitely a good read.
All in all definitely a good read.
April 14, 2025
: Recommended for Tom Clancy and Michael Creighton fans.
: Recommended for readers interested in the in-between time of artificial intelligence development from today to whenever SkyNet wakes up and kills us all.
: Needs to be a movie
The book is about how the FBI tries to stop a domestic terrorist plot in Washington, D.C. Set some 10-20 years in the future, Scientists have almost achieved a form of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for certain knowledge domains. The authors explore how law enforcement, terrorist plotters, and society in general interact with this new tech for both good and bad outcomes.
I first read this book back in August 2020 and, I hate to admit this out loud, but I didn't like it that much. All I can say is that I must have been in a bad mood. We were eight months into the Covid international lock down with no end in site and I can only assume that I wasn't happy about anything.
Well, I just finished re-reading it (2025) and I've changed my mind. Published in 2020, it's a prescient story about what AI might bring in the future. It's told through the lens of our AI understanding before OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022 and LLMs became a thing for the general population. It gets high marks for anticipating some of the things we are experiencing today in the real world. And I have to say, I really appreciate a story set in my backyard. I've lived near D.C. for over 25 years so I knew all the locations in the story. That was fun.
Oh, one more thing, our main FBI hero, Agent Keegan, has an experimental robotic partner that looks eerily the same as the Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot that all of us in the real world have been watching uncanny valley videos of for over a decade. Bonus!
The reason I re-read it is because I am interviewing one of the authors (P.W. Singer) at the weekly Wee Dram webinar this year. The Wednesday Wee Dram is a group of senior cyber and national security professionals who gather to connect, share, and support one another with expertise, camaraderie, and fun under Chatham House rules. Every once in a while they bring in authors to talk about their books and they asked me to facilitate the discussion. So, I thought I would give "Burn-In" a second chance and I'm glad I did.
I totally appreciate what Singer and Cole are trying to do. They are pulling from the same well as Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Threat Vector) and Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park , Airframe, Disclosure), two authors I fully enjoy. These kinds of novels explore the intersection of science, technology, and society within a high octane thriller. In some cases, they serve as cautionary tales about the potential dangers of unchecked technological advancements.
The authors like this kind of story so much that they founded a company dedicated to that purpose. It's called Useful Fiction and is a "network of creators, thinkers, and artists, dedicated to the goal of using 'the power of story to carry across real world lessons.'” Or, as the authors say, they like to write fictional intelligence (FICINT) as a Tool for Assessing the Future Operational Environment. They've published one other book under that banner too: "Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War."
In Burn-In, you'll watch the humans in the story engage with
: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
: Almost sentient robots
: Drones (Flying robots)
: Self-driving cars (Robots on wheels)
: AI Cops (Robots with a badge)
: Augmented intelligence (quite interesting)
: Quantum encryption: algorithms that detect any attempt to secretly monitor the conversation because it would change the quantum state.
: Nanotechnology
: Automation
: Visualization.
A quote from a Goodreads reviewer (Ryan) sums it up nicely: "Reads like a power-point review, intended for Marine Corps Captains , that has been fleshed out to book length form.”
And another from Jerry Lenaburg from the New York journal of books: "The novel reads like an eccentric amalgam of Neuromancer and the Hunger Games, blending a great deal of detail on emerging technologies that is at times downright scary, with a tale of humanity struggling to come to terms with an unknown future."
High Praise indeed.
: Recommended for readers interested in the in-between time of artificial intelligence development from today to whenever SkyNet wakes up and kills us all.
: Needs to be a movie
The book is about how the FBI tries to stop a domestic terrorist plot in Washington, D.C. Set some 10-20 years in the future, Scientists have almost achieved a form of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for certain knowledge domains. The authors explore how law enforcement, terrorist plotters, and society in general interact with this new tech for both good and bad outcomes.
I first read this book back in August 2020 and, I hate to admit this out loud, but I didn't like it that much. All I can say is that I must have been in a bad mood. We were eight months into the Covid international lock down with no end in site and I can only assume that I wasn't happy about anything.
Well, I just finished re-reading it (2025) and I've changed my mind. Published in 2020, it's a prescient story about what AI might bring in the future. It's told through the lens of our AI understanding before OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022 and LLMs became a thing for the general population. It gets high marks for anticipating some of the things we are experiencing today in the real world. And I have to say, I really appreciate a story set in my backyard. I've lived near D.C. for over 25 years so I knew all the locations in the story. That was fun.
Oh, one more thing, our main FBI hero, Agent Keegan, has an experimental robotic partner that looks eerily the same as the Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot that all of us in the real world have been watching uncanny valley videos of for over a decade. Bonus!
The reason I re-read it is because I am interviewing one of the authors (P.W. Singer) at the weekly Wee Dram webinar this year. The Wednesday Wee Dram is a group of senior cyber and national security professionals who gather to connect, share, and support one another with expertise, camaraderie, and fun under Chatham House rules. Every once in a while they bring in authors to talk about their books and they asked me to facilitate the discussion. So, I thought I would give "Burn-In" a second chance and I'm glad I did.
I totally appreciate what Singer and Cole are trying to do. They are pulling from the same well as Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Threat Vector) and Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park , Airframe, Disclosure), two authors I fully enjoy. These kinds of novels explore the intersection of science, technology, and society within a high octane thriller. In some cases, they serve as cautionary tales about the potential dangers of unchecked technological advancements.
The authors like this kind of story so much that they founded a company dedicated to that purpose. It's called Useful Fiction and is a "network of creators, thinkers, and artists, dedicated to the goal of using 'the power of story to carry across real world lessons.'” Or, as the authors say, they like to write fictional intelligence (FICINT) as a Tool for Assessing the Future Operational Environment. They've published one other book under that banner too: "Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War."
In Burn-In, you'll watch the humans in the story engage with
: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
: Almost sentient robots
: Drones (Flying robots)
: Self-driving cars (Robots on wheels)
: AI Cops (Robots with a badge)
: Augmented intelligence (quite interesting)
: Quantum encryption: algorithms that detect any attempt to secretly monitor the conversation because it would change the quantum state.
: Nanotechnology
: Automation
: Visualization.
A quote from a Goodreads reviewer (Ryan) sums it up nicely: "Reads like a power-point review, intended for Marine Corps Captains , that has been fleshed out to book length form.”
And another from Jerry Lenaburg from the New York journal of books: "The novel reads like an eccentric amalgam of Neuromancer and the Hunger Games, blending a great deal of detail on emerging technologies that is at times downright scary, with a tale of humanity struggling to come to terms with an unknown future."
High Praise indeed.
July 20, 2020
Listening to the first chapters I almost regretted having bought the book. I'd read the first chapter and a very positive review in Wired, but quickly became annoyed with all the tech-stuff and the main character who is not unlike Claire Danes' character in Homeland.
But I kept going and did not regret it. The complications of AI become abundantly clear as we move through this rather breathless thriller. It's for good, it's for bad, it's for good, it's for bad...
The premise of the novel is that all technology used in this near-future is already in existence. The authors are extremely knowledgeable, especially when it comes to AI, hence the excellent review in Wired.
So - if you, like me, think a lot about a future with IoT permeating everything and governments and private enterprises vying for the IA championship, you should read this. Using a thriller to get a far better understanding of what AI can and cannot do is not a bad use of one's time.
5 stars for easily obtained tech knowledge
3 1/2 stars for literary quality
= 4 stars.
Narration: fine.
But I kept going and did not regret it. The complications of AI become abundantly clear as we move through this rather breathless thriller. It's for good, it's for bad, it's for good, it's for bad...
The premise of the novel is that all technology used in this near-future is already in existence. The authors are extremely knowledgeable, especially when it comes to AI, hence the excellent review in Wired.
So - if you, like me, think a lot about a future with IoT permeating everything and governments and private enterprises vying for the IA championship, you should read this. Using a thriller to get a far better understanding of what AI can and cannot do is not a bad use of one's time.
5 stars for easily obtained tech knowledge
3 1/2 stars for literary quality
= 4 stars.
Narration: fine.
June 15, 2020
This is urban high tech crime fiction with a deep infusion of modern and near future reality that is backed up by heavy footnoting. It is also what the authors call "useful fiction".
Start with urban crime that is evolved cyberpunk and add ML/AI, robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles and neo-luddites to counter it. Then add a cynical FBI special agent and her next-gen robot sidekick (that she doesn't trust) who also has personal problems, and give her an existential, civilization-ending problem to solve with a deadline that she can feel but she doesn't know exactly when it's going to end.
She has problems with her history (hiding something), problems with her body (old injuries), problems with her management bureaucracy (can't trust the ambitious higher-ups), problems with the establishment (can't trust them either because they are amoral and greedy) and a whole flock of alt right white supremacists that are being exploited by advanced neo-luddites, then throw in some crime and some emotion and a timeline and you've got a modern thriller.
The point of all this crisis is to hold the readers attention with the story while introducing many various types of new and emerging technology that the modern reader may want to know about but wants to see illustrated in a tableau about what might be done with it.
The book is extensively footnoted too, so the near-future technology that we are introduced to can be investigated more, and with a more understanding minds eye. There are many footnotes from the past few years, but they even go back to Claude Shannon and Marvin Minsky (1955) and even back to Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Hobbes. So there is even some philosophy and politics as one might expect from a Washington DC setting about modern life and violent anti-civilization beliefs.
This is the second book by this pair of authors, and this is as good as or better than the first (Ghost Fleet). They have also consulted on a number of motion pictures and modern television shows, so they know their audience and how to hold their (our) attention.
Start with urban crime that is evolved cyberpunk and add ML/AI, robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles and neo-luddites to counter it. Then add a cynical FBI special agent and her next-gen robot sidekick (that she doesn't trust) who also has personal problems, and give her an existential, civilization-ending problem to solve with a deadline that she can feel but she doesn't know exactly when it's going to end.
She has problems with her history (hiding something), problems with her body (old injuries), problems with her management bureaucracy (can't trust the ambitious higher-ups), problems with the establishment (can't trust them either because they are amoral and greedy) and a whole flock of alt right white supremacists that are being exploited by advanced neo-luddites, then throw in some crime and some emotion and a timeline and you've got a modern thriller.
The point of all this crisis is to hold the readers attention with the story while introducing many various types of new and emerging technology that the modern reader may want to know about but wants to see illustrated in a tableau about what might be done with it.
The book is extensively footnoted too, so the near-future technology that we are introduced to can be investigated more, and with a more understanding minds eye. There are many footnotes from the past few years, but they even go back to Claude Shannon and Marvin Minsky (1955) and even back to Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Hobbes. So there is even some philosophy and politics as one might expect from a Washington DC setting about modern life and violent anti-civilization beliefs.
This is the second book by this pair of authors, and this is as good as or better than the first (Ghost Fleet). They have also consulted on a number of motion pictures and modern television shows, so they know their audience and how to hold their (our) attention.
June 2, 2020
I was a fan of the authors' earlier "Ghost Fleet” so I really wanted to love this book. Alas, I found it a bit disappointing. It began as a Tom Clancy techno-thriller, morphed into a TED Talk, and ended with a Dan Brown race against time. While the human characters were given a lot of backstory, I was disappointed when the focus moved away from the robot. The book is, at its core, a buddy movie - FBI agent learns to trust her new robot partner. I'd have been happier with more of that and fewer footnotes.
In fact, the footnotes ultimately distracted me here. Do we really need a footnote on the origins of the phrase “look under the kimono”? It takes a character note and turns it into an authorial show of erudition, too meta for this genre to handle. At one point, the authors give us the Hebrew translations (in Hebrew script) of a key bit of evidence - why? Again, it seemed like a moment where the authors wanted to show off, even if at the expense of the characters. I was happy to have the references for the AI developments that the authors build on to create their world, but I felt they went too far here and I found the exercise, ultimately, took me out of the plot. As a world-building exercise I give it a B+; as a thriller, a C.
In fact, the footnotes ultimately distracted me here. Do we really need a footnote on the origins of the phrase “look under the kimono”? It takes a character note and turns it into an authorial show of erudition, too meta for this genre to handle. At one point, the authors give us the Hebrew translations (in Hebrew script) of a key bit of evidence - why? Again, it seemed like a moment where the authors wanted to show off, even if at the expense of the characters. I was happy to have the references for the AI developments that the authors build on to create their world, but I felt they went too far here and I found the exercise, ultimately, took me out of the plot. As a world-building exercise I give it a B+; as a thriller, a C.
June 10, 2020
Meld of fiction and non-fiction about automation, robotics, and A.I. Novel woven with real-world research. The notes section, at times, is more interesting than the actual story itself. Meh. Wouldn’t be my first recommendation (far deeper stuff out there) but an interesting read nevertheless visualizing the real issues in the coming years.
July 22, 2020
Engrossing and thought provoking.
This is the most interesting think tank report you’ll ever read. Seriously, the amount of research that went into this book is impressive. And yet, the technical rigor behind it didn’t water down the characters or the pace of the story. Much like in their first novel Ghost Fleet, the dynamic duo of August Cole and P.W. Singer have created a novel that is film ready.
The story line is plausible enough to make the reader think a little harder, if they want to. But, it’s set in a distant enough future that we can detach from some of the darker themes, if we want to. When blended with relatable characters, real locations, and current or emerging tech and policies Burn In pushes the bounds for a new kind of story telling.
The authors pull you in mid action, like a good thriller, and keep the pace moving throughout. They balance depth of characters and realism in the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that caught a little dust in my eye from time to time. The relationships in the story are just as important as the action and the hundreds of endnotes.
Some, uninitiated to the style first used in Ghost Fleet may wonder why the heck are here endnotes in a fictional novel. Well, it’s called FICINT. Would you rather read the info paper or policy memo on AI, facial recognition and surveillance? Or, would you rather “see” how that played out in a fictional scenario that’s entertaining and enjoyable to read? By using fiction and good story telling, the authors created a world to run thought experiments, glean insights, and introduce people to things they may have never known about. Because most of the tech in the story is real, or in some stage of development, you can dive in and learn more from the endnotes.
The most important part of using the footnotes, while placing the story far enough in the future that we don’t feel like the dystopia is breathing down our necks (although 2020 has sure felt like some crazy screenplay), THUS it allows people to engage and try to prevent some of the more nefarious events from happening.
This story will inspire you, entertain you and maybe teach you something new. It will be in my re-read pile for years to come.
This is the most interesting think tank report you’ll ever read. Seriously, the amount of research that went into this book is impressive. And yet, the technical rigor behind it didn’t water down the characters or the pace of the story. Much like in their first novel Ghost Fleet, the dynamic duo of August Cole and P.W. Singer have created a novel that is film ready.
The story line is plausible enough to make the reader think a little harder, if they want to. But, it’s set in a distant enough future that we can detach from some of the darker themes, if we want to. When blended with relatable characters, real locations, and current or emerging tech and policies Burn In pushes the bounds for a new kind of story telling.
The authors pull you in mid action, like a good thriller, and keep the pace moving throughout. They balance depth of characters and realism in the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that caught a little dust in my eye from time to time. The relationships in the story are just as important as the action and the hundreds of endnotes.
Some, uninitiated to the style first used in Ghost Fleet may wonder why the heck are here endnotes in a fictional novel. Well, it’s called FICINT. Would you rather read the info paper or policy memo on AI, facial recognition and surveillance? Or, would you rather “see” how that played out in a fictional scenario that’s entertaining and enjoyable to read? By using fiction and good story telling, the authors created a world to run thought experiments, glean insights, and introduce people to things they may have never known about. Because most of the tech in the story is real, or in some stage of development, you can dive in and learn more from the endnotes.
The most important part of using the footnotes, while placing the story far enough in the future that we don’t feel like the dystopia is breathing down our necks (although 2020 has sure felt like some crazy screenplay), THUS it allows people to engage and try to prevent some of the more nefarious events from happening.
This story will inspire you, entertain you and maybe teach you something new. It will be in my re-read pile for years to come.
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