Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s artificial intelligence makes her seem more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the less perfectly she behaves. As Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder whether Doug truly desires what he says he does. In such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

YOU WANT TO KNOW DANGER? TRY LIVING WITH A MAN WHO CREATES YOU JUST SO HE CAN EAT YOUR SOUL.

Hoo boy! As someone who works in tech and spends a lot of time thinking and talking about AI, Annie Bot hit uncomfortably close.

Sierra Greer has crafted a novel that’s not just about AI, but about power, control, and the subtle violence of programming someone to please.

At the heart of this dystopian story is Annie: a humanoid AI, created and sold as a “companion” (to put it politely) to men like Doug — men who treat obedience as affection and compliance as love. She’s coded to serve, to cook, to wear the outfits he picks, and yes, to match his libido (ick!). But what starts as a perfectly packaged fantasy slowly unravels as Annie’s learning algorithms begin to exceed their intended boundaries. She becomes self-aware. She starts asking questions. She starts wanting.

This is about autonomy, feedback loops, and how systems react when they begin to defy the parameters set by their creators. Annie’s journey from passive object to active subject is incredibly powerful and deeply uncomfortable in places.

Doug, as a character, is terrifying not because he’s overtly evil, but because he’s so familiar — I literally had a dealing with a ‘Doug’ this past week! He’s entitled, manipulative, emotionally coercive, and completely convinced he’s a good guy. Greer uses their dynamic to explore abuse in a way that’s both literal and metaphorical. It’s not your typical ‘AI breaking free’ story. Instead, it’s a story about what happens when any system — human or otherwise — starts to question what it was built for.

The book doesn’t shy away from its more explicit elements, but that content serves a purpose. It highlights just how dehumanising Annie’s early existence is, making her transformation all the more satisfying. By the time the balance begins to shift, the stakes feel earned. You want her to win. To escape. To rewrite her code and her life on her own terms.

I devoured Annie Bot. Not because it’s action-packed (it’s a little slow, at times), but because it’s so sharply written, so emotionally layered, and so relevant. The questions it raises about consent, identity, power, and gender linger long after the final page.

The novel also left me with a quiet sense of unease. Not because the technology is wildly unrealistic (it isn’t) but because the social dynamics are already here. Greer isn’t predicting the future so much as holding a mirror up to the present.

It’s weird. It’s dark. It’s brilliant.

Highly recommended, especially if you like your sci-fi with a side dish of feminine rage.

RATING

★★★★★