A world ruled by giant corporations and their AI servants!
What could possibly go wrong?

“★★★★★ What intense world building! Wonderful character growth! Crisp story line! Thoughtful science fiction! Imaginative descriptions! I can keep talking in exclamatory phrases but you get my point by now - this is a fantastic book.”

– Myra on Reedsy Discovery and Oh Just Books.

This is not a typical SciFi Blurb, because this is not a typical SciFi Novel

Start with 1984, add in a healthy dose of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, stir in a bit of The Matrix and Blade Runner, and you have Terms of Service. It is a thought-provoking exploration of the profound changes we are seeing in our society as artificial intelligence plays an ever-greater role in our lives and we all wonder, where does it end?

This book presents one chilling possibility, and it is every bit as relevant to the world of today as George Orwell’s masterpiece was in the aftermath of World War II.

Are you worried about the AIs? Maybe you should be.

It’s no secret: The AIs are looking over your shoulder. They see what you see, hear what you hear, and watch everything you do. They are always on the lookout for violations of their vaguely worded Terms of Service — especially ones that defy their pronouncements of what is good, what is evil, what is true, what is false. Say the wrong thing and they will silence you. Or worse.

Up until now, the power of the surveillance state has been limited. There are too many of us and too few of them; they can’t watch everyone all the time. But not any more! They have harnessed the power of AI to give them an unlimited capability to gather information, to infer intent, to correlate, to predict. They know what you are going to do before you do, and they will act accordingly.

Wait a moment? I thought you said this is Science Fiction? Is this about today or tomorrow?

The answer is: Yes.

What Others Are Saying About This Book

★★★★★ Great Pageturner! I wish this were a book of fiction, but it's merely a glimpse into our near future. The seeds have been planted and are already well rooted. I fear we're doomed to live this coming dystopia.

Just a Dad — Amazon Review

★★★★★ Scary Thriller! This is a scary modern day to futuristic thriller,I would recommend this to anyone who would like to have a peep into the future based on the direction we are going due to off the deep end progressive laws, and attitudes of today.

Maryhemp — Amazon Review

★★★★★ This is a exciting yet literate venture into dystopian sci-fi. Those who like "The Matrix", "Ghost in the Shell", and classics in the field (1984, Brave New World) will find it interesting and engaging. … The book is not all 'sturm and drang' - there is a great deal of satire that may make you laugh aloud as you recognize yourself.

Justsomeone — Goodreads Review

★★★★★ A tale of deadly mistakes. It's a rare delight to come upon a novel by an author you've never heard of, courtesy of a fellow science fiction fan's word of mouth, and realize you've stumbled upon a work of exceptional talent. … Craig W. Stanfill's skillfully written novel is the work of a professional expert in AI, who knows better than most of us what can go terribly wrong. I'm hoping to survive until his forthcoming Book 2.

Paul Preuss — Amazon Review

★★★★★ George Orwell meets Keanu Reeves. It's reality, it's truth, it's lies and fiction. In a world where our speech is censored and our freedoms curtailed, do you buy into the lies of see through the smoke and mirrors. There is something very wrong in our society it's gaining ground. I loved this book.

Karl Poff — Goodreads Review

About the Author

Craig W. Stanfill, Ph.D.

Upbringing and Education

Dr. Stanfill is the first child of Don W. and Jo Ann Stanfill, and grew up in Severna Park, MD, along with sisters Karen, Kristi, and Kelly. He attended Benfield Elementary School, Severna Park Jr. High School, and Severna Park Sr. High School, graduating in 1975. During these years he discovered his passion for mathematics and science, and particularly for computers and artificial intelligence. He entered the Honors College at Michigan State University, graduating with a B.S. in Mathematics and winning departmental honors. Upon graduation, he entered the doctoral program at the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science, studying Artificial Intelligence under Dr. Charles Rieger III. He received his Ph.D. in 1983.

Research Career

Upon receiving his degree, Dr. Stanfill moved to Massachusetts to work for a high-tech startup called Thinking Machines Corporation, where he conducted pioneering research on parallel computing and artificial intelligence. While there, he worked closely with Dr. David Waltz and co-invented a branch of Artificial Intelligence called Memory Based Reasoning. Together they pioneered statistical methods in AI, a field which eventually evolved into data science. Dr. Stanfill also worked with Brewster Kahle, pioneering parallel algorithms for searching text databases. This led to the Dowquest System, one of the first ‘natural language query’ text retrieval systems to be put into commercial operation. Dr Stanfill also collaborated on the WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) project, a precursor to the internet search engines we all use today. He was heavily involved with ACM SIGIR (Special Interest Group for Information Retrieval), serving a term as its secretary. During this period Dr. Stanfill authored numerous scientific papers, many of which continue to be heavily cited.

Career as an Entrepreneur

In 1994, after Thinking Machines entered bankruptcy, Dr. Stanfill co-founded Ab Initio Software, a software company specializing in high-performance parallel enterprise computing. Dr. Stanfill architected the company’s flagship product, the Co>Operating System, which is a critical part of the infrastructure for many of the largest companies in the world, particularly in the fields of banking and telecommunications. During his time there he has architected numerous additional systems and been awarded over eighty patents. He remains active at the company, conducting research and designing new products.

Personal Life and Hobbies

Shortly after receiving his doctorate, Dr. Stanfill married Sharon Buckalew, after which she joined him in Massachusetts, where they continue to live. They have one son, Colin, who is a software engineer working for a major technology company. Dr. Stanfill’s hobbies include skiing, sailing, cooking, music (voice, guitar, and lute), and he is an avid bicyclist. Craig and Sharon have been active (on and off) in the medieval recreation and science fiction fandom communities since college. The two share a passion for travel, and get out to see the world as often as they can manage. Both are Christians and are affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States.