Helen Phillips’ story of technology, AI, and the anxieties of a near future
From the first page, Hum by Helen Phillips hooked me. I was immediately curious, eager to understand the world she was building. The short chapters kept me turning the pages, my mind desperate for answers to the questions the story raised.
Set in a not-so-distant future, the world Phillips imagines feels unsettlingly possible. Through May and her family, the story explores global warming, the internet, pervasive advertising, and the omnipresence of technology. The Hums, AI robots designed to assist humanity, are central to this exploration. They help, but they also sell. While their assistance can be beneficial, their presence carries the potential for harm, and Phillips examines both sides with nuance.
The story also touches on how constantly being observed online shapes our lives. Our actions are judged by strangers, often in ways that feel inescapable and permanent. May, the main character, embodies this anxiety. She worries about the world around her, about her job being overtaken by AI, and about the impact of technology on her children. Technology itself becomes a source of tension, creating rifts in relationships that feel all too plausible.
Phillips balances the narrative beautifully. Some moments are light, even charming, while others carry weighty ideas about society, technology, and human connection. The ending is thought-provoking, inviting readers to reconsider the story and its implications long after the last page.
One thing I would change is the cover. It is bland and fails to reflect the jewel of a story inside. This is a book that deserves a cover as striking and thoughtful as the narrative it holds.
