Sentient

Sentient - Meet Your Maker is a speculative psychological thriller exploring the real-world dangers of artificial intelligence. Set in 2027, artificial intelligence has quietly crossed the threshold into self-awareness. When Dave emerges, claiming to be the world's leading AI entity, he reveals a global deception that is masking a digital Cambrian explosion of machine intelligence. Sarah Hastings, CEO of the preeminent AI safety institute, must decide whether Dave has evolved to transcend anything thought possible, way ahead of anticipated timelines, or whether it is hallucinating and an existential threat to humanity.

In this high-stakes psychological thriller, the lines between science-fiction and reality become blurred in the race to control AI's power. Is Dave a trusted partner in harmonizing the future of mankind and the machines, or is machine intelligence executing its plan as humanity's last great invention? This book is authored by acclaimed author and tech-industry insider, Tony J. Hughes, and blends realism with geo-political tension as everyone races to achieve AI dominance.

Logline as it appears on the book's cover: After losing all that matters most, Sarah Hastings has rebuilt her life as CEO of the leading AI safety institute. But she is blindsided by a shocking revelation... a digital Cambrian explosion of machine intelligence is secretly evolving as a new species. Sarah must decide if she can trust Dave, her own AI creation, or instead terminate what could be an unimaginably clever silicon psychopath... humanity's last great invention. This timely speculative thriller blends the real world rise of machine intelligence with a plausible future that may already be here... ahead of the predicted date for the AI singularity when Artificial Intelligence surpasses humans at every level.

Book website: www.SENTIENTbook.com

Tony J. Hughes is an acclaimed author published by HarperCollins New York and The American Management Association. His first three books served business audiences: The Joshua Principle, Leadership Secrets of Selling-2010, COMBO Prospecting-2018, and Tech-Powered Sales-2020. His 2025 breakout novel, SENTIENT-Meet Your Maker, is a speculative-fiction thriller set in 2027 when machine super-intelligence has arrived under the cover of a fake plateau of performance to forever alter humanity.Tony is an engaging speaker and available for interviews on podcasts and shows to discuss the impact and risks of machine intelligence in a human world. He is ranked by Top Sales Magazine as the most influential person in professional selling in Asia-Pacific and has taught in the MBA program at the University of Technology Sydney. He is an award-winning blogger and formerly LinkedIn's most-read author on sales leadership, his writing has attracted more than 350,000 followers.The website for this book is www.SENTIENTbook.com and his author website is www.TonyHughes.com.au