Cold Zero (Brad Thor And Ward Larsen)
Cold Zero is an ambitious tale with a mind-boggling storyline. It’s a fast-paced thriller of political brinkmanship, paired with an impressive high-definition clarity of the power of Artificial Intelligence in modern warfare.
The novel is intriguing, bold, and contemporary in its writing. It provides readers with a major shift that the future of Artificial Intelligence would bring—the weaponisation of AI.
BLURB
Dr Chen Li, a leading Chinese scientist, has created a prototype technological marvel that will give the People’s Republic of China a global military edge. This invention is set to revolutionise the Chinese military capacity, leapfrog the Western world military, and strip the American military of its global dominance
The creation of Sky fire, an Artificial Intelligence-powered weapon that is capable of taking control of software and the hardware of any military materiel, not only showed “remarkable success” but also showed its offensive potential. Dr Li, realising that the Chinese government wants to expand his invention globally to target the “digital infrastructure… and military systems” of the Western world, became nervous because his purpose in creating Sky Fire was to make it a stabilising force and not to be weaponised.
However, Dr Chen Li defected to the United States of America through the preemptive move by the CIA with the help of CIA operative, Kasey Sheridan
When the Chinese Ministry of State Security, headed by Zhang Tao knew of Dr Li’s defection, they set out to arrest him and take possession of his creation. However, Dr Li beat them. The MSS fell hook, line and sinker by using Sky Fire to take control of a car on the streets of Hong Kong to escape.
Now, Kasey and Dr Chen Li are airborne to the United States on Hemisphere Airlines Flight 777. On the blindside, China made a countermove by shutting the turbo engine of the plane, belly landing it in the Arctic, on a snow floe.
The US’s Cheyenne, China’s Snow Dragon 2 and Russia’s Aurora are in a headlong race to access the Skyfire at a flashpoint in the Arctic, which brings us to the caption Cold Zero
ANALYSIS
KASEY SHERIDAN
Kasey was the most prominent character in the novel. She represented brilliance in the standard of the CIA’s work. She was bold, purpose-driven and sympathetic.
She paid Assiduous attention to details because her work was of life and death. Besides, she was leading a flagship operation of the CIA to retrieve the world’s most advanced technology.
She mirrored the key role women play in today’s politics. Brad Thor gave a unique voice to women in his novel. Kasey reminds us that women have moved from the traditional stereotyping of weaker vessels to courageous and emboldened members of society who are capable of directing the course of key social policies
Kasey’s leadership, direction and expertise challenged the norms and what society has accepted about women. With the right direction and coaching, she stood not as a mere CIA operative, but as a woman whose ideas and expertise mattered.
DR CHEN LI
He represents the various scientists at the forefront of advancing Artificial intelligence. He was a deliberate and conscious-driven scientist.
Though some readers will argue that Dr Li’s act was treasonous to his nation, I’d argue that he did one of the most selfless acts in the story though he experienced significant emotional conflicts. His action was a matter of morality rather than patriotism
He defected because, the Chinese government wanted to weaponise his invention which was contrary to the purpose Sky Fire was created.
His bold decision signals that scientists are at the helm of scientific research and development must remain true to their duty to make the world a safer place to live. The purpose of their inventions is to elevate humanity rather than to reduce it to nothingness.
SKY FIRE
Sky Fire, the prototype revolutionary technology sat at the centre of the story. It presented the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. The use of Artificial Intelligence will determine whether it’s a Pandora’s box for humanity or not.
Sky Fire was created as a stabilising force. In other words, to maintain a fixed state of global peace. With the Potential of Sky Fire, no war could emerge on the score of its ability to control both software and hardware of military systems. Leveraging its power, any burgeoning war could be easily nipped in the bud, preventing a Third World War. But it was secretly targeted to be weaponised.
Sky Fire is not far from reality. So, the militarisation of AI is not news. There should be an enforced ethical code that will govern the use of AI as a military weapon.
In a nutshell, Cold Zero is a brilliant and powerful techno-thriller. It excels in its timely exploration of the militarisation of AI. The scenes are engaging as they are well-written. It is almost a literary genius and could be cinematically perfect. My only concern is why it wasn’t titled Sky Fire to highlight the theme of Artificial Intelligence.
Written by Einstein Asante