“The CHAOS Agent” by Mark Greaney (Berkeley, 560 pages, $30).
Whoever controls the use of artificial intelligence for weapons will control the world. When you pick up Mark Greaney's “The Chaos Agent,” all you really need to know is the simple premise. The 13th entry in Granny's High Voltage, headline-grabbing action/espionage series, the real question is how AI will affect future wars and the global balance of power.
Artificial intelligence has exploded into the zeitgeist over the past year, a key element in everything from computer search engines to writing and drawing programs. So it makes sense that the threat of AI-enhanced weapon systems — “machines that think like humans, albeit better, faster and completely without remorse” — would be a natural lure for Greene, who calls out current events. Tends to adapt. The terrifying threat of “The Terminator's” rogue Skynet AI system suddenly seems terrifyingly real.
Not that Granny's former CIA operative/man on the run court gantry, known as the Gray Man, is looking for trouble in his latest outing, mind you. “Trouble finds us. We don't have to go looking for it,” he admits to Zoya Zakharova, former Russian antagonist-turned-lover, early in the novel. “Half the planet wants me dead. And at least one country wants you dead. … Something's coming. It's getting closer every day.”
Granted, it's not long before Gentry and Zoya run into the latest crisis. Hiding out in a village in Guatemala, Zoya is approached by her former Russian handler, known as “Uncle Slava”, who helps her kidnap a Russian engineer involved in the development of an artificial intelligence system. Asks for help.
As Slava puts it, AI weapons, if they are to become a reality, would need only a nanosecond to decide who or what to attack and would operate on their own without human supervision. Whoever captures the technology first—whether it's the Russians, the Chinese, the United States, a corporate giant, or a private millionaire with a nefarious design—could potentially rule the battlefield and the world itself.
“If both sides have the same technology, it won't work,” Slava says. “The world is made a safer place.”
Gentry wants no part of the mission, but when a hitman—aka Lancer, “one of the most notorious assassins for hire on the planet” and second only to Gray Man in skill—shows up, Zoya Tracks as a means to an end. , there is no return. Before long, both Gentry and Zoya are on the hit list of high-profile scientists and engineers from around the world, many of whom have already been killed.
But as any Gray Man fan knows by now, once you tap a bear, you better finish what you start or pay the price.
“You miss work” Zoya tells him at one point. “You stop making an impact. That's not a bad thing. You do it because you're honorable. … No, you're a hero.”
Gentry doesn't like to use the word hero when it comes to his actions, but the term fits. He may prefer to operate in the shadows, but his inner quest for justice usually wins out.
The story culminates in a royal battle that will keep readers turning pages late into the night and leave them thirsting for the next installment in the Gray Man series.
Following the success of last year's Netflix original film starring Ryan Gosling, the novel is sure to attract longtime fans and newcomers alike. And while “The Chaos Agent” includes several characters from Greaney's past novels, the book is completely accessible to new readers.
As usual, Greaney – who cut his teeth writing novels in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan universe – packs the novel with nuance and attention to locales (many of which he's seen himself). ), weapons and high-octane fight scenes without losing sight. The personality and emotional weight of his characters piled on them.
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