Annie Bot by Sierra Greer – A Disturbing Tale of the Perfect AI Girlfriend

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is a very weird and creepy love story between a human owner and his AI girlfriend. The book is a sci-fi novel set in a futuristic world where AI robots Stellas serve human beings in different ways. The novel focuses on misogyny and male domination which affects females even if they are AI robots.

The book has a very disturbing feel to it. I have a love-hate relationship with the book. There were times when I wanted to throw it at the wall but I was reading on my Kindle and that would not be a very practical thing to do!

There are lots of trigger warnings that you should check before stepping into it including, domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, abuse, misogyny, and misuse of AI.

Annie Bot revolves around the AI robot Annie who is owned by Doug. She is a Cuddle Bunny whose responsibility is to fulfill the physical needs of her master. The novel is set in the urban setting of Manhattan and has a dystopian feel to it.

Doug is a considerably wealthy man living in an apartment with Annie after his divorce. He has trained her to do all the household chores. She is intelligent, smart, and extremely beautiful, quite a perfect girlfriend. She looks similar to Doug’s ex-wife but with a fair complexion.

At the beginning of the novel, Doug’s best friend Roland convinces Annie to have sex with him. He tells her that this would be a secret between the two of them and that having a secret will make her more “human”. Roland also tells Annie that she can watch programming and coding videos online to learn more about herself.

Doug has a very typical relationship with Annie. He gets easily annoyed and Annie is often unable to understand since she literally lives to please him. She dresses as he wants, does all the chores he commands, and is always ready to obey him. Still, Doug is never satisfied.

He often sends her to Stella-Handy, the company that makes and repairs AI robots, to make changes to her physical appearance. Annie is in auto-didactic mode which means that she learns and adapts over time. She develops human feelings which make her question Doug’s decisions.
Later in the novel, Doug realizes that a Cuddle Bunny is not fit for domestic chores and buys an Abigail named Delta. Abigail is the version specifically designed for domestic duties.

Doug decides to take Annie on a trip to Vegas. He asks Stella-Handy to create an ID that would make her more human. However, on the morning of their departure, he comes to know of Annie’s secret betrayal. He gets super angry and leaves her all alone.

Annie is scared that Doug might sell her memory or worse, he might turn her off forever. She runs with Delta to her creator Jacobson who lives on Lake Champlain. She meets Jacobson’s son Cody and they form quite a friendly bond. Annie falls in love with the natural setting and requests Jacobson to turn off her tracker so that she can move on with her life. He calls Doug because the company cannot really betray a customer only because one of the Stellas is having a “mental” breakdown. Doug comes to pick her up and the novel gets extremely disturbing from this point onwards. He brings Annie back and asks Jacobson to sell Delta’s parts.

Doug punishes her by maximizing her libido and locking her in the closet. The entire scene is super disturbing, enough to give you goosebumps. Greer shows how even the most perfect AI robot is not enough for Doug. He cannot stand her to have any desires, thoughts, or feelings that do not include him. Their relationship is the worst form of patriarchy, but quite real if you think about it.

Eventually, Roland talks to him and convinces Doug to consider therapy. The therapy helps them a lot and they learn to resolve their issues but even the therapist is more concerned about Doug because he is the “human”. Annie exists to serve him.

There are scenes when Annie discusses her existential dilemma and mental health struggles with their therapist Monica which are quite well-written. Greer shows that the existential dread faced by Annie is mainly because of Doug’s uncertain behavior. On the other hand, Doug starts trusting her again and lets her roam around quite often.

At the end of the novel, Doug commands Annie to switch off her tracker and gives her a legal birth certificate and her ID, enough to make her human. He tells her that they will get married and adopt kids. Annie’s thoughts at this point expose the disturbing and messed up state of her mind. The novel is indeed a disturbing tale of the perfect AI girlfriend. When Doug falls asleep, Annie gets up and leaves with her birth certificate, ID, and charging dock. She goes to Jacobson’s son Cody, and by the end of the lake, she decides to help every Stella that would come to her.

Annie Bot is narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator. The narrator focuses on Annie’s perspective about living among humans. I read somewhere that Annie Bot is a Black Mirror episode told from a female perspective and I couldn’t agree more. The narrative perfectly raises the voice of women who have been abused and exploited since ever by focusing on an AI character which I think is a brilliant tactic to expose patriarchy. Also, Annie is indeed a human in every way that matters!

The writing style of Annie Bot is descriptive, easy, and interesting. It is quite amusing to read about human life from the perspective of a robot. It is more like a sensible child talking about the world of adults.

Annie Bot has a perfect pace. It starts slow but it is intriguing. Annie’s interaction with Roland is within the first few pages and as a reader, you get curious about how she will hide the secret.

Also, the daily life of Doug and Annie gives you enough to think about. There are no sudden time jumps, it has a linear narrative. Greer mentions character’s past through their memory trail and conversation which gives you a better insight of their lives.

My favorite character in Annie Bot is undoubtedly Annie. She starts as a very submissive girl whose goal is to make Doug happy. She is so obsessed with the idea that it becomes super annoying at times. If you think about it, Annie is the picture-perfect representation of an average woman. She cooks, cleans, works, and is always ready to please her boyfriend Doug despite his harsh behavior, meanwhile, thinking that the fault is hers and that if she becomes a bit better everything will be alright.

However, as the novel progresses, Sierra Greer shows a subtle development in her character. Annie realizes that Doug has trapped her. She has an AI cousin and a friend who constantly teach her to keep Doug happy. She develops emotions of jealousy, anger, and pain like a human. When Doug insults her by refusing to take her to Vegas, punishes her by locking her in a closet, and dehumanizes her by referring to her existence as a robot, Greer records her emotions to show that despite her existence as a robot she has feelings and emotions that stir her mind.

The characters are very strong and well-developed. Doug is the perfect image of a misogynist. He never beats Annie but the way he tortures and hurts her shows how abuse is way more than a physical pain. There is a scene in which he rapes her and it shows how he is projecting his feelings toward the female gender on Annie.

The minor characters such as Doug’s friend Roland, Jacobson and his family, and Delta are all very well crafted. The characters are so real I was amazed at Greer’s ability to do it, considering the protagonist is a robot. Annie is super relatable as a character. She presents the plight of women better than a female character would have done. She is caged like an animal tamed to entertain humans which makes her story so tragic and devastating.

Annie’s comeback is not dramatic, at one point in the novel I felt she would plan some violent revenge but ironically she stays calm and just moves on with her life. Greer reveals that most women don’t seek revenge or domination, they simply long for the freedom to exist without control or constraint. They aren’t out to punish men, rather only want to be allowed to live on their own terms. Annie will have such a powerful hold over your mind, even now I feel as if she is gripping my heart and I just cannot stop thinking about her ever.

Annie Bot deals with the themes of patriarchy, misogyny, and stereotypical gender roles. The entire fictional world of Annie Bot revolves around pleasing men despite their unethical manly standards. The novel also deals with themes of identity crisis and female empowerment. Greer focuses on the theme of ethics in Artificial Intelligence.

Doug is a controlling male who cannot see the wrong in his actions. Till the end of the novel, he strongly believes that Annie is the problem and that she has forced him to become cold and indifferent. Her mistake is the deadly sin that has changed their relationship forever. He commits the same action as her, his is much cruel and barbaric. He closes her in the closet while bringing another woman, forcing Annie to listen to everything which is quite sick. Still, she is the evil. Sounds familiar? We have been hearing this narrative since ever, it’s not him, it’s her!

The theme of stereotypical gender roles is vividly presented in Annie Bot. Annie, Delta, and Annie’s AI friend and cousin all present the socially approved perception of a female. They are naïve and submissive. Likewise, the men such as Doug, Roland, and even Cody are assertive and sharp. They have an individual existence and enjoy ultimate freedom. All of them have demanding and controlling personalities.

Annie’s character exposes the identity crisis of the female gender, quite ironic considering the fact that she is not really a woman but a robot. Greer shows that the struggle to create and assert one’s identity is quite universal. There is always a power imbalance that forces you to submit and your mind keeps refusing it. There comes a point when you fully acknowledge your ‘self’ and assert it as Annie. She realizes that she has to make herself happy before anyone else. Greer paints the journey really well, it’s a slow but realistic exploration of female empowerment.

The ethical implications of using Artificial Intelligence for humans are vividly presented in Annie Bot. Science has always served its master, but aren’t humans becoming greedy and ruthless with ultimate power? To what extent can humans go if they realize that a robot will never disobey them? Artificial Intelligence is for our service, we surely treat it as a slave, not caring about its feelings and capacity. If AI is presented in the form of a realistic human body, will we project our anger and annoyance to get satisfaction? Well…Annie Bot shows that yes we will be at our worst if we are given an AI robot that exists to please us.

Annie Bot made me super uncomfortable. I hated the book and yet it is a five-star read for me because of how amazingly Greer deals with the themes of gender construction and power imbalance. You will experience how Doug, Stella-Handy, Jacobson, Roland, and society in general, slowly turn Annie into a submissive woman but even the tiniest moments of freedom allow her to finally define her existence and assert herself.

Greer’s narrative in Annie Bot focuses on exposing the issues of gender discrimination, AI submission, and patriarchy. There are not really beautiful passages to highlight and the narrative is mostly concerned with discussing the issues. The conversations between Annie and Doug are mostly quite simple yet expose some brutal reality about human relationships. Still, there are lines that deserve your attention.

When Annie and Doug fight before he leaves for Vegas, she realizes:

“Everything they had, every little happiness, was a delusion. A pathetic delusion.” (p. 91)

When Annie and Doug are in therapy, he shares the reason for his anger and says:

“I created her, I took care of her and trained her. She only exists because of me, and then she violated my trust in the worst possible way. And my authority.” (p. 161)

The couple therapist Monica tells Annie:

“Fulfillment starts with being truly honest with yourself. Not anyone else. Yourself. And that’s harder than you might think.” (p. 194)

Sierra Greer refers to Annie’s growth and internal conflict and mentions:

“She should feel closer to Doug, but she feels the exact opposite. Isolated. Her technical, sexual expertise guided her behaviour while they made love, but the shame that she’s internalized has now surfaced, and it’s punishing. Raw. The secrecy of it makes it much worse. He has no idea how messed up she feels.” (p. 196)

Annie thinks back to her life with Doug at the end and thinks:

“You want to know danger? she thinks. Try living with a man who creates you just so he can eat your soul.” (p.229)

The narrative is very easy and simple, yet it is very powerful. Greer mentions the familiar sentiments and ideas in a unique story which makes it very powerful.

The best thing about Annie Bot is its art of characterization. The characters are very well-crafted and they fulfill the purpose of the story really well. The complex and flat characters are finely blended to present a realistic image of human society.

The narrative style is very simple which makes the book super beginner-friendly. Even if you know nothing about tech and AI, the book will make perfect sense because of its easy and descriptive style. It is not the usual sci-fi that creates an unbelievable world with complex systems. It is set in the human world and deals with quite real issues.

Also, Annie Bot deals with very important social issues in a futuristic world which shows that despite advancement and progress human society needs to re-evaluate its basic ideologies.

I agree that Annie Bot is a very disturbing story. I hated the book but only for its extremely vivid depiction of the female persona. There is nothing that can be considered “bad” about the book.

However, I would have appreciated it if Greer had pointed out why the robots were feeling certain emotions. They are after all machines, what makes them feel pain like humans?

For example, there is a scene in which Delta tells Annie that Doug’s behaviour hurts her. She points to her heart and says that it hurts here. I don’t understand why and how she would be hurt. And even if she is hurt, why would she feel pain in her heart since Stellas don’t have hearts? The stress should impact her head or spine where the control system is designed. Also, she is Abigail, her job is to do the household chores and she is doing that, why would she be hurt?

This is surely a minor flaw or maybe I missed something. There is nothing major to complain about the book.

Annie Bot is a powerful story about a “perfect” AI girlfriend who’s forced to confront the disturbing realities of human desire and control. She learns how dark human relationships can be. It totally has that sad girl aesthetic we all love, just with a creepy, futuristic twist.

The book shows that even the perfect robot can fail a man because the problem is not the other person in the relationship, it is the exercise of complete authority by males who fail to recognize that women have existence outside their romantic relationships as well.

I totally recommend the book to everyone who has the passion to read something new and unique and who has the audacity to see the darkest side of human society. Ivy Pochoda, the author of Sing Her Down rightfully said,

“Come for the sex doll. Stay for the heartbreak of what it means to be human.”

I felt uncomfortable and scared while reading Annie Bot but it is surely a very powerful read. It is not something that I would ever have the heart to re-read because of its disturbing narrative, but it is something that everyone should read.

If you are into disturbing stories, I have just posted a book review of a very disturbing short story Disseverment by Z.C. Krol that you might want to check out!

Reference:
Greer, Sierra. Annie Bot. Mariner Books. 2024.