It's Good For You, (Paperback)

In January 2015 the world's leading artificial intelligence (AI) experts came together in Puerto Rico. During the conference, a survey was conducted where delegates were asked to estimate the year in which Strong AGI (the point at which artificial general intelligence, through self-learning algorithms, outstrips human intelligence) is reached. It averaged at 2047. This is the year in which It's Good for You is set.

Life is dominated and controlled by compulsory genome mapping. Everyone is genome chipped at birth, and receives a probability score (PQ) which denotes their likelihood to lead healthy lives and produce healthy offspring. The PQ is owned and run by insurance companies who administer the country's healthcare and security services, and use the PQ to set insurance premiums. The PQ algorithm also helps match couples, establishing their level of risk to society and alerting the authorities to breaches of behaviour, accidents and unhealthy practices.

In 2047, AI already underpins many aspects of society, and as a result, almost nine in ten people are unemployed and survive on Universal Income, while the small number still working are the privileged elite. Ellen, one of the Insights Analysts in Strasbourg Insurance, is the only working member in her family, and helps to fund her sister's antidepressants and mother's addiction to virtual reality games. She's a romantic and hopes to meet Mr Right through the G-Match dating service she works on.

Dr Stanislav Janekowski, Stan, the architect of the PQ Algorithm, is prepared to do anything to remain at the top. But he has his weaknesses and many enemies, and the Gimme Hacking Co-operative lead by Nick Artremis and John Vaunt each with personal grudges against Stan work to take him and his edifice down. Their plans seem to work, but Stan has been developing Strong AI, at the forefront of the race to be first, and already, his software is taking control.