Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

Culpability My Rating: 4.9

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, this felt like a light beach read. I was completely immersed in this easy page-turner. I enjoyed both the characters and the storyline. In this new era of AI, the book confronts many of the questions and concerns we are all beginning to face. It’s a suspenseful family drama that explores moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.