A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, killing an elderly couple, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbours a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

During a weeklong recovery vacation in the final days of summer, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident—suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

Bruce Holsinger
Bruce Holsinger is the author of four award-winning novels, including The Displacements and The Gifted School, and many works of nonfiction. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and many other publications. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.