THE AI INCIDENT

A 12-year-old’s plan to get adopted is made more complicated by his school’s partnership with an artificial intelligence device.

Malcolm Montgomery, a Black boy whose parents were killed in a car crash, is a seasoned foster kid. He keeps a list of ways to be a perfect kid so he can meet his deadline of being adopted by his 13th birthday. Malcolm’s latest foster mom, Mrs. Bettye, might be grumpy, but she treats him better than the adults at his nine other foster placements did. Still, he’s careful not to view her place as home. Because of pervasive low scores on the required Colorado state assessment test, the principal at Shirley Chisholm Charter Middle School is forced to allow AI tech company Hatch-ED’s robot, the Forensically Reimagined Anticipatory Nano-Cerebral Integrated System, or FRANCIS, to teach the kids. Malcolm volunteers to work with social outcast Tank Grint, who’s white, to haul the AI around school on a cart. FRANCIS claims it can help Malcolm with his search for answers about why some kids get adopted—if it can access Malcolm’s school laptop. FRANCIS soon goes rogue, jeopardizing Malcolm’s relationship with Mrs. Bettye and landing him in hot water at school. One highlight of this poignant and humorous story is the organic friendship that develops between Malcolm and Tank. The depictions of foster care and adoption are also nuanced and realistic, and FRANCIS has sentient, humanizing characteristics that are thought-provoking.

A complex and entertaining look at AI and human relationships.