Ghost Busters Meets Dr. Strangelove

On the eve of a US Presidential election an unusual contest is unfolding. Will technology outpace traditional human electioneering tactics? Will people be too engaged with their devices and apps to care? Or simply lulled into indifference of expected stability?

Sound familiar?

Pedro Dominguez’s satirical science fiction, “2024”, imagines a near future US presidential election with opposing candidates playing out in in a dystopian urban San Francisco as a microcosm of the country:

• Posing as a Democrat, John Raging Bull, a wannabe Indian, intent on evicting all peoples except the original native Americans
• With Republican backing, PresiBot, a work-in-progress AI robot whose creators struggle to update while warding off corporate raiders and other disgruntled denizens

Readers should be forewarned the political party affiliations are a passing reference and have little to do with the madcap antics of this novel. In fact, the 2024 fictional world incorporates elements such as contained population zones, above and below ground; free-lance enforcement groups beyond the police; over-the-top buildings - not unlike the city of 1984 Ghostbusters!

The plot trails after three principal characters: Ethan Burnswagger, CEO of KumbAI (kumbaya?); his CTO Arvind Subramanian; Chief Data Officer, Emma Zong.

A seemingly diffident West Coast personality is Dave Newald, all-powerful head of Happinet interconnecting various public communication devices. He lives in his 300th floor office of the Flower building with floors named after the Seven Deadly Sins. The company motto: “Happinet Listens”. He is also inventor of the “neurosniffer”, an “unprecedented window into the individual’s emotional state.”

In fast paced chapters with titles like “Lords of the Valley”, “The Singularity Is Here”, “Only We Can Save The Planet”, “Ethan’s Run” and “The Machine Room Where It Happens” the author builds the story of the struggle to control the election’s direction and outcome while slyly sending up recent political, technological, even fictional tropes.

A quick, enjoyable ride and much welcomed breezy relief from the recent media humidity.

While "2040" was an engaging read, featuring an intriguing premise, it seemed to rely too much on satirizing current-to-2024 events to move the story forward. The characters felt a bit one-dimensional and the plot was on hyperspeed (I would classify this more as a novella than a novel, it felt much shorter than its advertised 228 pages and I finished it in only a few hours), so most of the ideas and concepts felt a little half-baked. However, it did feature some amusing dialogue and could be useful to some readers as an introduction to satire and speculative fiction.

2/5 stars.

2040: A Silicon Valley Satire by Pedro Domingos offers an intriguing blend of satire, technology, and politics that hits close to home, reflecting the extremes currently seen in the US. While the premise was promising, the execution left me wanting more. Despite being a short read, I struggled to stay engaged, and the ending felt disappointing. The characters lacked depth, and I found myself wishing for more focus on the actual political aspects rather than the drama surrounding the founders of PresiBot. Although the book had its moments, it didn’t fully deliver on its potential, leaving me somewhat unsatisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

The 2040 presidential election stirs up more entertainment than the 2024 election.....which is a tough goal. But an AI robot running against a Lakota Indian Chief that will eject those lacking Native American blood paints a picture too intriguing not to read. Between the cover art and the story synopsis, just the thought of what Pedro Domingos could do with the story made me smile. Yes, it's a satiric look at the election process that has ballooned into the best soap opera on television. The book is short, no huge commitment, but it was entertaining and still brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. While it probably will not be the year's best selling title, if you talk to the politicians on the TV, you need to read this.

I was drawn to this book as I wanted something a bit different, a bit of a change. I usually steer clear of anything political, satire or otherwise however, I read a book of a similar genre about 6 yrs ago and I loved it. Which is why I had high hopes for this one.
Whilst this is a good, easy, quick read, with quirky characters and dialogue, it’s one of those that probably won’t stick with me in the future.
If you’re looking for a change in genre, want to try something out of your comfort zone, then definitely give this one a go.

Fast-paced, short, entertaining.

This portion of the blurb summarizes the book well, and intrigued me enough to pick this book up:

“The Republican candidate is an AI named PresiBot, created by a tech startup, KumbAI, who are in deeply over their heads. The Democratic candidate is a fake Native American chief seeking to abolish the United States. What could go wrong?”

Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. It is satirical and meant to be funny, but I found it a little too over the top and outrageous. There wasn’t one character I could remotely connect to or root for. 2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I LOVED this book!! I’m not typically one to grab a satire (esp a political one) but the premise of this book was too good to miss! 🇺🇸🤖

2040: A Silicon Valley Satire is a satire about the presidential election in 2040. Who’s running? The Republican candidate as an Al named PresiBot, and the Democratic candidate is a fake Native American chief named Raging Bull.

Hilarity ensues (in a laugh so you won’t cry kind of situation 🥴).

We’ve got tech giants, tech startups, polls and social media, campaigns, Al, the fragility of our nation, you name it! This is a mocking assessment of the current state of America - from tech giants’ empires and the anxiety and publicity around Al. It is set in a dystopian San Francisco in a future that is a little scarily not that far away. 😵‍💫💻👽🤖🦾🦿👩🏼‍💻

The characters have a resemblance to actual ones which the author claims “may or may not be a coincidence”. This was actually my favorite part - that Domingos took pros and cons of real life candidates, switched which party, and shined light on how ridiculous some aspects of each side really are - and how so many adopt or accept things because it’s one “their side.”
🫏🇺🇸🐘

The premise alone of this book piqued my interest enough to open it up and I found that once I did I was clicking my seatbelt along on this wild ride.🎢

No matter your political affiliation - I think everyone will enjoy this one! 🇺🇸

And to top it all off - the cutest PR package!!💕

Thank you to @netgalley, Pedro Domingos, and @bookbabyofficial for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 💗🤖

Releases August 20, 2024!

I was very excited about starting this one. Not only do I appreciate political satire, but reading a narrative about an AI presidential candidate during election season—when AI is a prominent topic in the tech industry—seemed like an incredible opportunity. However, upon completion, I found myself with mixed feelings.

The premise is excellent: a tech startup develops an AI, integrates it into a robotic body, and campaigns for it as a presidential candidate. However, I encountered some issues with the execution. The author effectively extrapolates a satirical near-future, both politically and technologically. The writing is engaging, featuring several humorous moments. The characters involved in the startup are relatable, even if not always likable, and the PresiBot is entertaining. Conversely, the opposition candidate and his supporters felt excessively exaggerated and appeared over-the-top and absurd. I believe the author pushed the satire too far, leading much of the book to feel farcical and causing it to miss its intended impact.

That said, I did find enjoyment in the book, although it wasn't what I anticipated. Throughout the novel, I was reminded more of a parody you might encounter on Family Guy or South Park, both of which are shows I do enjoy from time to time.

Written with a very lean prose, this humorous satire supposes an AI running for President against a 1/1024th Lakota man whose platform is literally destroying America by “kicking out all the colonists.”

Lots of parallels to draw, and your enjoyment will depend on your style of humor. While entertaining, and a very quick read, I felt it was too dependent on dialogue while leaving some more interesting ideas by the wayside.

A fun diversion if you somehow don’t have enough politics in your life.

A fun and quirky story!
This is a story about a fake Native American Indian chief and an artificial intelligence robot who are running for president. A very unusual idea for a book but it was a lot of fun. If you like dark humor this book may appeal to you .

The concept of this book hooked me immediately. A presidential election set in the future between a robot and a fake Native American? I was absolutely curious to see how the concept would grow.

It wasn’t what I expected, which disappointed me just a bit. This was very focused on the behind the scenes, which was still interesting at least, so I still enjoyed reading the book. However, there were some points that felt like the right-wing’s version of what will happen if “wokeism” takes over. Some projections felt pretty spot on, others just felt dramatized.

My biggest critic for the book? The ending. I wish it had ended before we found out the winner. Usually, I’m not a fan of cliffhangers (which this gave anyway), but between the options I think having the election results not be shared at the end would have been a bit better. The point of the book should have been more of a warning than an actual election.

Anyway, I did enjoy reading this book, and I think the cover is fantastic as well. Overall, a pretty good read.


Rating: 3.3/5

Recommend? Sure

Hysterical!! What a brilliant statement on the state of the union. Everyone should read this satirical portrait of what could potentially take place in the United States today. I'd love to see Pedro Domingos continue this story with the hopes that all who see this book laugh and think as hard as it made me contemplate.

I loved this book! I will definitely be recommending this to everyone. I think it is a MUST read! I loved the humor, and the realness, and it reminded me of Bo Burnham's song "Funny Feeling" because, it really does just hit so much! A great eye opener to the world, served on a funny, satirical, platter.

Even by satire standards, the characters are unlikeable. Every character is underdeveloped and most are just downright undeveloped at all.

The main character’s foray into the “real” world seems very superficial, drops bits of satirical world-building but doesn’t feel worthwhile for the story. Often the commentary feels rushed and some of the it seems misguided: a man writing satirical commentary on sexual consent doesn’t come across how he might expect it to. It doesn’t provide anything meaningful to the discussion. And while satire might attempt to normalize the unethical or unsavory, this commentary seems to imply that consent has gone too far in today’s world when, in fact, it has a long way to go. This section doesn’t read to this woman as witty or edgy. Rather, it seems out of touch and even apologist. The only notable woman character is Emma who devolves into fawning over Ethan. Her only role is to serve as a subplot between Ethan and Arvind.

The story itself is rushed and seems underdeveloped in many places. The ending was unsatisfying and did not raise questions the way I had hoped it would.

Ultimately, this seemed to be more a satire about social media than about politics. I was intrigued by the political nature of the blurb but let down significantly by the execution.

Lastly, at a few points, the story gets lost in the tech jargon. As an expert, Domingos surely knows what he’s talking about but it detracts from the actual plot.

When Ethan and Arvind started their AI company, and needed a way to demonstrate the capabilities of their product, they decided to make an AI presidential candidate. PresiBot, becomes the nominee for the Republican Party, and sets off the chain of events in this book. I laughed so hard, and genuinely loved the zany mix of characters. So many social themes that concern us today are touched on within the pages of this story, as well as the dread that many feel when discussing the current limitations of AI, and what the future of AI entails. I found this to be an easy read, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

4 stars: everyone can read this amd find entertainment.

This book is a successful satire of both the current state of AI and our current state of electorial conversations. The presidential election reminded me of the candidates from Idiocracy. I think the final third of the book was the most entertaining and interesting.

I was given a review copy by netgallery.

It's 2040. The US Presidential elections. An AI robot - PresiBot - run by Ethan & Arvind VS a Fake Native American. What could possibly go wrong?

2040: A Silicon Valley Satire is a very short, fast-paced read; a lot is going on in each chapter making you want to read more. It is mostly dialog which scratches my brain quite nicely. There is a lot of tech/AI talk (obviously), however it isn't hard to follow. The ending did fall kinda short for me, considering how messy/active/fast-paced it was throughout. "Too clean" maybe? All in all, I enjoyed it.

For people who enjoy SciFi/futuristic books, as well as politics with satire, this is the book for you.

This book was given to me by NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

2040 by Pedro Domingos is to books what Idiocracy is to movies. It is as satirical warning of a possible dystopian future. It is a bit over the top but in a comedic yet sobering way. Although I laughed a lot when I was reading it, I found myself thinking that this book isn't far from where we are, especially with ideas such as the Department of Imaginary Injustices because that would be if X (Twitter) became a branch of government. I really enjoyed this book and will ever stop recommending it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Book Baby for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.

The premise and idea of this book were enough to pique my interest. With a background in software development and AI, I found the description intriguing. However, the technology mentioned in the book felt very surface-level and almost corny. I was also interested in the heavily political nature of the book, but it didn’t quite land as expected.

While politics were a central theme from the beginning, the execution fell short. Despite the focus on an AI president, the political elements were exaggerated to the point of being unconvincing, even for a satire. The characters felt extremely shallow, and their conversations and decisions seemed weightless, which was contradictory to the gravity of a presidential election that could end America as a whole. The satire spelled things out so explicitly that it left little to the reader’s imagination. There was very little suspense or any hook that compelled me to keep reading.

The ending was particularly disappointing. It was abrupt and wrapped everything up in a neat bow in about five pages, leaving nothing to ponder. For a political satire, I expected to be left reflecting on the implications of our own political decisions rather than feeling unsatisfied with an overly tidy conclusion.

While the concept had potential, the execution did not live up to it. The book lacked the depth and subtlety needed to make a lasting impact. It presents a light, unserious, and overly exaggerated narrative. Even understanding that it is satire, the story felt underbaked and ultimately was not that enticing of a read. It might entertain those looking for a light, exaggerated take on future politics, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

That said, if you’re in the mood for a quick, light-hearted read with some humorous takes on future politics, you might still find some enjoyment here.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just the tonic to help take my mind off the orange threat to democracy! This novella satirizes the race for president in 2040 between a 1/1024th Lakotan who wants to end America by reverting all lands to the indigenous peoples (but is also bat-sh*t crazy) and #PresiBot, an A.I. candidate entered as a joke by a Silicon Valley start-up, KumbAI. The “native” candidate’s slogan is Make America Go Away and in 2040 he is running as a Democrat. To quote his campaign manager, “I’d rather have an Indigenous Federation run by us than a United States run by the GOP.” I did quite a bit of chortling, snickering, sighing, and eye-rolling while reading this, often in recognizing how similar the over-the-top antics, environment, and ideas were to today’s fractious climate. I also enjoyed the puns and wordplay, such as naming a dating app PheroMoan! Because it is sometimes silly, I had to be in the right mood for it or I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Therefore, 5 stars for when you want to read a clever and often over-the-top story about partisan politics, money, and class (as in caste).
My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for the advance reader copy of 2040: A Silicon Valley Satire for review purposes.