All That We See or Seem

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu is a technothriller that taps into fears about AI and related things such as deep fakes, and the ability to manipulate reality through machines.
Julia Z, the “orphan hacker” is a great character: smart, capable but still unsure about how to rely on other humans, longing for connection, but still mindful of her values. Not really surprising for this kind of protagonist but well-written and interesting.
There is a good deal of consideration about the meaning/philosophy of AI and machine learning which keeps this from being a soulless story. From the little that I understand, it seems that the tech is fairly realistic which lends quite a bit more scariness than the actual villains. Unfortunately, some show more of the long explanations about how everything works really slowed down the plot and I skimmed/skipped most of it without any real detriment to the story.
Strangely, the narrative seemed to have come to its conclusion a little over half way through, then there was another related (but tenuously) story that to finish out the book. To be fair, it was very thriller-ish and ramped the excitement back up a bit. On the other hand, it didn’t feel quite as real or as intimate as the first part.
In all honesty, this is not the type of thing (AI, robots, etc.) that I would normally read so I may not have been the best audience for it. I did find myself getting caught up with some of the other human characters though—Piers and Isabella, particularly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the free eARC. show less

All That We See or Seem is a near-future sci-fi novel set in a world where personal AIs are ubiquitous, and much of society has reshaped itself around their capabilities and limitations. The story follows Julia Z, a gifted hacker with a complicated past, who becomes entangled in the disappearance of Elli Krantz, a celebrated dream-weaver.

There’s a huge amount to admire here, and I’d almost call it essential reading for anyone intrigued by where AI might actually take us - and the ethical, political, and practical dilemmas such reliance would create. Liu handles this with a deft touch, weaving in believable glimpses of geopolitical tension between the U.S., China, and Russia, and grounding the world in smart little details: Disney show more being pushed by customers not to track children and lobbying to make that restriction law to limit it's competitors too; machine-learning tools attempting to lip-read or infer passwords, complete with realistic limitations. These interludes into the mechanics of tech - how it works, where it fails, and what that means for society - were some of my favourite parts, though I can imagine some readers might find them edging toward textbook territory.

Julia’s personal arc is equally compelling. Her experience as a minority is sensitively handled and feels extremely relevant to our present moment. Her emotional journey - learning about relationships and love through observing Piers, and gradually applying those lessons with Isabella and the people in her life - was genuinely admirable and grounded the more speculative elements of the book.

The aspects that didn’t quite land for me were mostly to do with characterisation and convenience. The POV sections from the Prince and from Victor felt noticeably flatter than Julia’s chapters. Their motivations (money, power) never grew into fully textured characters, which made the “big bad” elements feel oddly thin against an otherwise nuanced and richly imagined world. A few plot conveniences also niggled: the conveniently missing camera in the closet, or the cafeteria camera being simultaneously known about and overlooked until the plot required it, pulled me out of the story.

That said, the ideas are fascinating, the execution ambitious, and the speculation around technology often brilliant. If these kinds of near-future, AI-infused concepts spark your interest, this is definitely one to pick up. show less

This was so fun, a sci-fi mystery with lots of tech and evil billionaires. AI is everywhere, and sometimes it can be useful, but enslaving people to produce "human" actions in tech is a problem when people are looking for the real thing.

Interesting premise. Would have loved to see some of the lore around AI fleshed out more. The writing (especially dialog) felt stiff to me, and the pacing was a bit uneven, particularly getting towards the end.

2026 book #1. 2025. At 14 Julia was part of a hacker collective that got busted. Older and wiser she mostly lives off the grid. A man asks her help to find his missing wife who may have fallen afoul of an evil man. Julia uses her computer skills to help. Near future SF. Good read