Packed into a thriller by the master of social analysis – a questionable and brutal reading pleasure
Marc-Uwe Kling used to be a comedian on the road with a kangaroo. Then, eight years ago, he showed us with his science fiction novel ‘QualityLand’ that he has a better understanding of technology and digitalisation than the majority of managers in industry and SMEs in Germany.
Now, with ‘Views’, he has ventured into a new genre and published a thriller. Apparently, it is a murder story in Berlin where the BKA (the German Federal Criminal Office) is involved. In reality, he delivers a sharp reckoning with the woke multicultural world in which there is no longer any stability or orientation for anyone.
As BKA officers, editors and professors, the characters of the protagonists are actually firmly anchored in the centre of society. The comedy does not come from exaggeration, but from the banality of the situation and the absurdity of the woke social expectations that Kling allows his protagonists to fall into.
With a unique flair, he allows the systemic logic of the justice system and our police apparatus to collide with human fears, insecurities, and our political system with loud right-wing radicals, the loud woke left and the silent centre.
Shortly after a 16-year-old girl disappears without a trace, a video is released. If the case Kling has so fascinatingly woven were not one of rape, you would frequently smile. And, of course, it’s also about crossing a barrier, because this increases the absurdity of the further level of the thriller with no happy ending.
Already, I would clearly recommend ‘Views’ for all potential readers who want to get a comprehensive idea of how our society is being hollowed out by extremists from the fringes of all sides. Right-wing ideas seem more repulsive to us because of their radicalism. And yet, Kling manages in a fascinating way to capture the subversive consequences of our woken re-education of recent years, which is done through the press and the forced openness to everything and every thought. It is the arbitrariness and the resulting lack of stability that is causing more and more problems for us humans. A lack of stability and uncertainty about how to act in everyday life that is also affecting people who were previously stable and is slowly but surely wearing them down.
Attention – Spoiler Level 1
If you continue reading now, you will get clues about a major twist – in any case, a completely new level of the thriller. The book/audiobook still remains exciting, the ending is not revealed!
‘Views’ is also about technology. About AI and the question: Is it possible to produce glitch-free video content? What will happen to us humans and our society if we can no longer trust static images or videos because they can be artificially generated in any form? What happens to us when authenticity can no longer be proven at any time? This is not fiction, but already technically possible and known today.
What if we skilfully interweave fake content with real events? What if we no longer know whether crimes actually happened or whether they happened differently in reality? What if a video no longer constitutes evidence, precisely because it can be produced at will?
What if political actors and politically extreme groups start to utilise these possibilities and abuse them for their own purposes?
This is exactly what Kling’s thriller is about: an emotionally violent crime that is used to instigate a coup. And not in a banana republic, but in Germany. The point is that the line between real facts and AI-generated content is being blurred. Evidence and counter-evidence can no longer be checked for authenticity. State justice is being replaced by public proof through images. Images have their real effect on real people, even if it is unclear whether it is fact or fake. Will the state and society still be able to function independently and together in the future if dubious people and groups use AI in such a perfidious way?
Another dimension – Spoiler Level 2
Kling goes even further than that. Through his unique narrative style, he makes us realise that there are new, stronger powers that surpass state violence, political pressure, revolution and subversion: The banal control of our attention via views and clicks on content platforms.
Power, war, revolution and subversion have been the ultimate goal of politics, groups, rulers or individuals for many millennia. All of this happened with the help of communication management and control. Communication and content have always been intended to achieve something. This is also how the intention of an intercepted message, a manipulated text, the publication of secret information, the reinterpretation of information in a different context works.
With social media, the new currency of information and communication is attention. Attention as a mass phenomenon is the goal in itself, because you can earn money from the millions of clicks. What the information and communication does or causes is irrelevant. The impact of the information in reality is virtually unintended collateral damage.
The only unfavourable thing for us as humanity is that extreme political positions get more attention – a real problem for our democracies in a digital world of attention.
The (spoiler-free) conclusion
I can recommend the audiobook without reservation – Marc-Uwe’s voice makes it even more effective than the text alone. Despite its seriousness, you can enjoy this thriller and can’t help but smile in many places.
These are five hours well spent, not entertaining in the classic sense, but making you shudder and smile. Kling makes us think about our society, our systems, institutions and – unavoidably – humans themselves, we who are not ready for the new possibilities of AI in combination with the control of our attention via social media streams.
