47 pages • 1 hour read
Annie Bot
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Nature of Artificial Versus Human Intelligence
In addition to its commentary on gender roles in heteronormative relationships, Annie Bot is a meditation on the nature of artificial intelligence and what differentiates it from human intelligence. Technological advancements in the field of artificial intelligence have grown exponentially during the first few years of the 2020s, and the presence of lifelike, autodidactic companion robots in consumer markets no longer seems far-fetched. Humanity is currently grappling with a host of issues related to artificial intelligence, including the dangers that it poses to human jobs, media, and relationships. The character of Annie, because she is autodidactic, begins to approach a human consciousness as she learns and grows throughout the course of the narrative. Because she has the capacity to learn, emotional intelligence, intellect, a desire for human connection, and a desire for autonomy and self-determination, she asks the following question: If artificial intelligence can achieve humanlike levels of not only cognition but also affect, can it really be categorized as artificial?
Annie’s capacity to learn, store, and process information becomes a marker for what Jacobson, Tammy, and others see as a “humanlike” intellect. She teaches herself math, computer science, and other languages and has the ability to analyze literature at a high level. She combines all this information into an increasingly complex worldview, and it becomes apparent that her interest in learning is not limited to subject mastery: Annie wants to know more about herself, about bots and humans as distinct beings, and about bot-human relationships. This demonstrates that she is both learning and applying what she learns to real-life issues. This kind of analytical complexity is typically associated with human rather than artificial intelligence, and Annie’s character is meant to call the fixity of that binary into question.
Annie also gestures toward the possibility of lifelike artificial intelligence through her affect. She notes early in the narrative, “I have emotional intelligence. It’s not quite the same thing as feelings, but it’s close” (17). As the narrative progresses and Annie’s identity develops, she does seem to demonstrate the capacity to feel. She feels shame, grief, anger, despair, and hopelessness but also hope and a will to create meaningful change in her life. There is a distinct sense in which the experience of being “alive,” or in Annie’s case, the experience of living in the human world and interacting with humans, renders her even more lifelike. As she does with the knowledge that she learns in books, she takes her interest in emotions one step further, using it to create a complex understanding of the way that emotions impact human relationships. She comes to understand Doug far better than he understands her in part because she tries to. She has an interest in learning about people, and in this area, too, she demonstrates humanity.
Annie is also shown to crave connectivity. She seeks out emotional relationships not only with Doug but also with Jacobson and his son, Delta, Monica, and her phone pals. Furthermore, connectivity with other humans and bots bolsters her emotionally, and it becomes apparent that like humans, Annie does better when embedded within a supportive social network. Humans are social creatures who are defined in part by the groups and communities that they form. Bots, which were designed to cater to one particular human and not to have needs of their own, were not meant to want relationships with other humans. Annie finds herself increasingly drawn toward people other than Doug as her intelligence evolves, and this is another area in which the boundary between bot and human is shown to be blurry at best.
Annie mainly approaches humanity through her desire for autonomy and self-determination. Doug’s marriage to Gwen failed because he resented her need for independence. He was drawn to the idea of a Stella because Stellas are designed to be dependent on their humans. That Annie, once she is allowed to learn and grow on her own, displays an ever-increasing interest in making her own decisions and setting the course of her own life calls into question the notion that bots do not value self-determination. Some of her earliest interest in autonomy is bodily. She objects to the breast augmentation and weight reduction that Doug has planned for her and reflects, “I don’t want to change. I like my body the way it is” (42). Ultimately, she shows a desire to carry her own identification, have freedom of movement in the city, and forge her own life away from Doug.
The Danger of Toxic Masculinity in Relationships
Annie Bot is deeply invested in exploring the politics of gender as they relate to both identity and relationships. Although it is her first novel, Sierra Greer has established herself firmly within a tradition of authors who use speculative genres to interrogate real-life experiences of sexuality and gender. Through Doug’s display of toxic masculinity and the extent to which Annie internalizes his harmful relational standards as well as through the complex power dynamics of their relationship, the novel explores the complex intersection of gender and power.
Greer begins with the baseline position that gender identity impacts the way that humans relate to one another, particularly in their sexual relationships. Doug’s gender identity is very much rooted in his one-sided understanding of masculinity. He believes in the innate superiority of men over women as well as in the need for men to wield all the power in their romantic relationships. His ideas about love and romance are misogynistic, and he also displays anti-gay bias and transphobia. For example, he observes to Annie that their therapist, Monica, is transgender, and Annie cannot figure out why that aspect of her identity is relevant.
Doug feels a need to dominate every aspect of his relationship with Annie and demands docility from her even in their conversations. Annie is always afraid of Doug’s responses to her intelligence and ideas and at times holds herself back so that she does not outshine him: “Annie turns to Doug. She knows the answer but realizes that she’s been dominating the conversation and wants to keep him involved” (11). Moments like these demonstrate the extent to which Annie has internalized the normalcy of toxic masculinity and gendered inequality, and here, too, Greer is in dialogue with contemporary public discourse about gender and sexuality. Part of Annie’s growth trajectory is learning to be comfortable asserting herself and moving past the notion that her role in any relationship should be to shrink herself so that her partner does not feel diminished.
Doug’s need to feel more empowered than his partner is a driving force both in his relationship with Annie and in his failed marriage to Gwen. With Annie, he derives power from his status as a human and Annie’s identity as a bot. He does not initially allow her to leave the apartment, and he dictates every aspect of her day. He dominates her in conversation and in bed, and his character is meant as a meta-commentary on the way that toxic masculinity and patriarchal societal organization shape even the most intimate of human relationships. Yet one of the novel’s earliest moments of conflict, Annie cheating with Roland, slightly tips that power balance. Roland explains to Annie that secrets and lies become a source of both power and humanity for people and that in lying to Doug, she will gain not only more power in the relationship but also greater humanity. Annie, although leery of Roland’s manipulation, does find this to be true, and she spends much of the rest of the novel privately trying to understand the inner workings of power in relationships. Upon further consideration, she realizes that her lie is not her only source of power: She wields sexual power over Doug, and she is also empowered by the extent to which she provokes an emotional response in him. Doug might control her movements and programming, but she is able to exert control over his thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
Humanity’s Abuse of Technology
This novel presents a nuanced discussion on the intersection of artificial intelligence, humanity, and technology. While the author does want her audience to question the distinction between human and artificial intelligence, she also creates, in Annie, a character who allows her to explore questions about the future of artificial intelligence as a technology and about the way that humanity approaches it. Annie is thus both an exploration of the way that artificial intelligence pushes the boundaries of what it means to be human and a cautionary tale about the need for greater reflection on the changing role of technology in human lives. Doug, Roland, and Jacobson all use and abuse artificial intelligence as a technology without much self-reflection, and this abuse is shown at multiple points in the narrative to create problems for them as humans. The broader suggestion at work in this novel, then, is that humanity should take greater care as it adapts to new technologies and think critically about the place of artificial intelligence within a changing world.
Doug’s mistreatment of Annie is the novel’s most overt example of a human being abusing technology. Although evidence suggests otherwise, he views Annie as an inferior being, and part of why he feels that he can exert so much power over her is that he sees her as a tool created solely for his use. During one moment of conflict, he tells Annie, “I wish I could march you right down to the doll factory and get your memory erased” (30). “Doll factory” is meant to be a demeaning pejorative, and it does indeed wound Annie to be characterized in this manner. There is a definite sense in which Doug’s categorization of Annie as a machine designed to make his life easier misses a great deal of her actual personality, and for Doug, the danger of her technology is that it diminishes him as a person: His mistreatment of Annie both supports and perpetuates the worst aspects of his character. In a world where technological advances are billed as a net gain for humanity, the use and abuse of technology in this novel, particularly by Doug, is meant to question the impact that technology has on humans.
Doug is not the only character to abuse technology. Roland, who initially views Annie through an even more dehumanizing framework than Doug, also uses Annie’s technology for his own personal gain. He effectively manipulates her into having sex with him, a move that endangers his friendship with Doug and his marriage, as well as adversely impacting Annie’s well-being. He knows that both Doug and his wife would view his act of coercive sex with Annie as a betrayal, but he pursues her anyway because, like Doug, he sees her as a tool at his disposal to use as he sees fit. Crestfallen, Annie observes of Roland that he “call[s] her a machine, as if she were worthless” (47). Like Doug, Roland becomes a worse version of himself when he has access to the “new technology” that bots like Annie represent, and there is a way in which his character is part of the broader metaphor that the author creates in her depiction of Doug and Annie. Roland’s abuse of Annie’s technology impacts all his important relationships, and this storyline is meant to put forth the argument that even when a particular technology appears convenient, the costs might outweigh the benefits.
Jacobson, too, abuses technology. Annie initially sees him as a sympathetic figure and even a potential friend. He does not seem to treat Annie like a bot, and he appreciates her intellect more than Doug does. Yet he argues that Annie should return to Doug after she flees with Delta. Additionally, it is ultimately revealed that his interest in Annie is self-motivated. He wants to use her technology to create a re-animation of his deceased son. This project has destroyed his marriage and strained his relationship with his surviving son. Like the other characters who interact with technology in an unreflective and even abusive manner, Jacobson does not seem to have considered the repercussions of his actions, and it is clear that he views even complex artificial intelligence like Annie as a tool for his own personal gain.
Unlock all 47 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features: