By Caitlin Taylor So
Artificial intelligence is on the rise and everyone’s mind as another chatbot or generative AI application emerges on every site you use or engage with. But have you met these AI characters? Check out these YA books (written by real humans!) that take place in worlds powered by artificial intelligence and explore the ramifications of this on the humans that created them.
- The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
Meet Talis, an artificial intelligence that is in full control of the world. To keep human world leaders in check, Talis requires each of them to give up a child to send to a compound where these children will live and grow up together. If a world leader starts any sort of conflict, their child will die.
- The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Meet Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth but serves as queen of the afterlife where people’s consciousnesses end up when their physical bodies die. Ophelia forces these human spirits into servitude as revenge for the work she has to do for humans when they’re alive.
- Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
Meet the Thunderhead, an all-seeing, all-knowing artificial intelligence that was developed to be a caring guardian for all of humanity. When international governments concede and let the Thunderhead assume total influence and control, the AI solves every problem that causes suffering and hurts humanity: climate change, war, famine, disease, mental illness, and death.
- Message Not Found by Dante Medema
Meet Vanessa, the chatbot Bailey creates after her best friend Vanessa dies in a horrific car crash. With Bailey uploading years’ worth of texts and emails between her and real-life Vanessa, the bot is able to replicate Vanessa’s personality to help Bailey cope. When the bot starts to drop hints that suggest that Vanessa kept secrets—secrets that may have contributed to her death—Bailey doesn’t know if she’s ready for the truth.
- Crier’s War by Nina Varela
Meet the Automae, a race of artificially intelligent beings first designed to be the royal’s playthings until they later rise to become the ruling class, bending humans to their will. Ayla, a human servant, seeks vengeance for her family who were murdered by Automae and sets out to murder the heir to one of the Automae kingdoms, Lady Crier. When she meets Crier, however, she is shocked by her gentle innocence. The two enter a slow-burn alliance as the world around them barrels toward war.
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Born and raised in Queens, Caitlin Taylor So is a Chinese-Vietnamese writer who is passionate about prioritizing and amplifying marginalized voices. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in publishing and marketing. Her writing can be found on Business Insider, PopSugar, WebMD, The New Absurdist, and Her Campus Media.