I recommend this book for science fiction fans who enjoy thinking about how “conscious” AI might arise and interact with humans. You could perhaps describe it as a fictional case study of one possible future scenario. Two grad school buddies whose efforts to develop autonomous cars result in a tragic accident have a bitter failing out. They end up forming separate transportation companies (think Uber or Lyft) which fiercely compete with one another. One of them goes mad/bad (to a somewhat unrealistic degree) and becomes the villain of the tale while the other remains good and tries to always do the right thing. Throw into the mix an extremely introverted but genius coder whose senior-year computer simulation evolves over time into a seemingly self-aware entity that ends up controlling both companies vast fleets of autonomous vehicles. Over the course of the story, the characters discuss many of the common questions which arise as one considers the future of AI. What is life? What is consciousness? Can humans keep AI under their control? Will AI share the same values as us? Does AI “life” deserve the same protection as human life? Etc. The author also references dozens of sci-fi classics relevant to various plot points. While calling it great is a bit of a stretch, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others interested in a fictional exploration of these issues. (For an excellent nonfiction work considering these and related questions in greater depth, I highly recommend Max Tegmark’s “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”) The narration was very good and enhanced my enjoyment significantly.