Patrick Skinner, former central intelligence agency (CIA) operations officer, has recently published a book review on P.W. Singer’s novel, Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution, discussing how the work has eerily replicated how emerging technologies have infiltrated both the private and public sectors.
Burn-In is set in an unspecified future, between five years to 50 years from present. The novel takes place in an environment in which technology, politics and society have to adapt to the ways automation has shifted the world around us.
“Burn-In is a powerful book not because it focuses on the technology but because it focuses on how we use that technology or how it uses us,” said Patrick Skinner, former CIA operations officer. “Burn-In is fact and no longer fiction.”
The novel revolves around FBI agent Lara Keegan as she investigates multiple, apparently unrelated crimes and incidents with her new robot partner, TAMS (Tactical Autonomous Mobility System).
“I don’t focus on weapons in my job; I focus on people and connections. Burn-In does as well, but it does so through link analysis and pattern recognition powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) that blurs the line between human and computer in terms of learning and leaps of logic and even faith,” commented one of the readers, who has served as a policeman.
Keegan is forced to navigate the different landscapes, ranging from poverty to affluence, as well as the politics of drones and automation in law enforcement and in society at large. “Intelligence agencies understand there is no such thing as trivial information if it is part of a pattern. Burn-In drives this point home in almost every scene,” added one reader.
Potomac Officers Club will host its AI Just Beyond Tomorrow Virtual Event on May 28th. Click here to register for the event.
Singer will serve as a keynote speaker at the event. He will discuss the impact that AI has on the private and public sectors, the steps that leaders in the field have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology.
Register here to join Potomac Officers Club for its AI Just Beyond Tomorrow Virtual Event on May 28th to learn about the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with the rapid advancements in AI.
