The Algorithm Will See You Now by J L Lycette Book Review

About the Book:

The most dangerous lies are the ones that use the truth to sell themselves.

Medical treatment determined by artificial intelligence could do more than make Hope Kestrel's career. It could revolutionize healthcare.

What the Seattle surgeon doesn't know is the AI has a hidden fatal flaw, and the people covering it up will stop at nothing to dominate the world's healthcare — and its profits. Soon, Hope is made the scapegoat for a patient's death, and only Jacie Stone, a gifted intern with a knack for computer science, is willing to help search for the truth.

But her patient's death is only the tip of the conspiracy's iceberg. The Director, Marah Maddox, is plotting a use for the AI far outside the ethical bounds of her physician's oath. A staggering plan capable of reducing human lives to their DNA code, redefining the concepts of sickness and health, and delivering the power of life and

death decisions into the hands of those behind the AI.

Even if the algorithm accidentally discards some who are treatable in order to make that happen...

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My Review:

I liked this debut novel. It is so timely. We know medical care is changing and Lycette gives us a glimpse of a possible future where care is optimized and designed to prevent inefficient treatment. Computer programs are in control.

I can see the present concern as medical error does cause many deaths. Lycette does a good job of supposing a future where the human element is totally removed. As is often the case, technology has advanced faster than the moral responsibility associated with it has developed.

Lycette does a good job of exploring the ethics of patient care. Should DNA be used to determine whether a treatment will be effective? Should patients receive such treatment even if it may not be effective? Should patients have a voice or is the decision totally in the hands of medical professionals?

This is a good novel exploring the whole issue of program controlled patient care. Lycette's writing style is good. The information is given in a way that laypeople can understand the ramifications of rapidly advancing technical innovations in the medical field. The strong female characters are developed well. I enjoyed the novel and will be watching for more from her.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Jennifer / JL Lycette is a novelist, award-winning essayist, rural physician, wife, and mother. She has a degree in biochemistry from the University of San Francisco and attained her medical degree at the University of Washington. Mid-career, she discovered narrative medicine in her path back from physician burnout and has been writing ever since. Her essays can be found in Intima, NEJM, JAMA and other journals; at Doximity and Medscape; and her website https://jenniferlycette.com. She is an alumna of the 2019 Pitch Wars Mentoring program. Her other published speculative fiction can be found in the anthology And If That Mockingbird Don't Sing: Parenting Stories Gone Speculative (Alternating Current Press). The Algorithm Will See You Now (Black Rose Writing Press) is her first novel.

Black Rose Publishing, 303 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through WOW! Women on Writing. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)