The Fear Index

In which AI becomes all too real.

What do you do when you read a near-perfect book (Conclave)? You find out what else the guy wrote, that’s what you do.

Robert Harris has many historical fiction novels in his substantial body of work, but it was his 2011 The Fear Index that caught my eye. Featuring AI trouble, paranoia, and the obscenely wealthy, it seemed right for this moment in time.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Poor hedge fund manager Alex Hoffman is annoyed. Someone is messing with him, pretending to be him, sending him gifts and acting on his behalf – a shocking and disorienting experience. Hoffman is a scientist who went from CERN to co-founding a hedge fund. He had no interest or background in finance; it was his expertise and vision on AI and machine learning capabilities that drew him in.

He’s a casual billionaire. When his frustrated wife asks him how much money he has, Alex has to pause and think for a minute. ‘A billion,’ he finally shrugs to her disgusted amazement.

I’ve only read two of Harris’ books and can already vouch for the signature elegance of his writing, the smart and witty dialog, the scenarios straight out of a Bond movie. The Fear Index features a home invasion, a chase through the streets of Geneva, a fight, and more harrowing scenes. Harris excels at keeping you guessing and I like it.

The relentless downward-spiral plot held my interest, and I enjoyed the high-finance trading setting with an office full of quants. It’s another world precariously superimposed on top of the everyday one we inhabit. Hoffman’s machine learning AI (VIXAL) is uncannily proficient and with the newest upgrade it starts to behave eerily, making trades that can’t be explained.

In addition to Alex, other well-developed and likeable characters round out the novel: his increasingly impatient wife Gabrielle, the greedy and placating co-founder Hugo, and the ever-questioning inspector Jean Claude.

There are fine lines between obsession, conspiracy and truth. By the end of the novel – which takes place in a day – Alex heroically tries to fix the AI run amok. The ending will have you smiling, but warily.

Long story short: a double shot of Robert Harris is a great way to begin the year.

p.s. guess what they made it into a show with the same name: one season starring Josh Hartnett, 2022.