The Dream Hotel: A Novel

The Dream Hotel: A Novel by Laila Lalami

This novel hits many of the current cultural touch points like AI, immigration, privacy, bureaucracy and privatization . AI is used to help fight crime. Risk scores are assigned to people to help identify and detain those most likely to commit crimes. (this was launched after a mass shooting at the Super Bowl) The book centers around an immigrant daughter who is returning from a conference overseas. She is flagged at the border and goes through a Kafkaesque experience with the immigration. She is at the point of getting passed through, but then a shift change leads to her being detained. She is accused of lying about paying for the trip (since she paid and would then be reimbursed.) Her risk score was increased because a man on the airplane complained about her. He had appeared to have a medical emergency and he reported that to the crew. However, the man decided he did not want to leave and got agitated. Her risk score was already elevated due to her background and temper. She also had a device to help her sleep. The terms of service also exposed her dream data which could further be used against her. She is detained for a short period, which stretches into months with little way out. The detention center uses her labor for profit. The dream company also slips somebody in to do research on the "dream promotion" technology. There is a bungled evacuation due to a wildfire and poor conditions for the residence. There are also issues with diseases spreading through. Others encourage her to do good to be released. However, she is only released after becoming a troublemaker. She refuses to work and encourages others to stop working also. This probably encourages the people to let her go. She returns home and then struggles to adapt - and feels bad for those she has left behind.  The book takes the common occurrences and the plausible to paint a horrifying picture of the near future where anybody can be at the mercy of the algorithms.