A cautionary tale Kirkus Reviews called frightening, timely, and sobering, In the Algorithm We Trust explores indoctrination and propaganda in the age of artificial intelligence.

Following the Siege of Washington, D.C., Lamar T. Haddington, the creator of the Algorithm, has risen to the presidency. Now, every left ear bears a Data Gathering Device, granting the Algorithm access to every one of their thought and desires. Cameras surveil Americans’ every move. Dissenters are publicly tortured. The history of pre-Algorithmic times is altered. And border walls have been constructed to keep all foreigners out and Americans in.

This is the America Hugo Rodríguez is born into, where the Algorithm dictates his every moment in the pursuit of data. Data that the Algorithm then uses to curate his perfect life. Though to get this perfect life, he must constantly prove his loyalty to the Algorithm and Lamar T. Haddington, even if it means turning on those he loves and supporting the atrocities committed by the Algorithm.

Unlike the typical dystopia, this story is not about rebellion or uprising, but instead is an exploration of how one becomes complicit in the system and propagandized into believing oppression is actually freedom.