Machine Burning

Artificial intelligence will never , ever, reach the singularity. Until it does. When that happens, will humans embrace the new "Masters of the Universe", or try to pull the plug? Knowing humans, they will try to do both at once. In particular, the current MOTU, those ultra wealthy elite who are (ahem) no so subtly calling dibs on low earth orbit, and then, maybe, Mars. How will they react to being demoted to JABORJ (Just a Bunch of Rich Jerks)? How will current governments (say, China and the U.S.) react to increasingly powerful, sentient, and not at all impressed, AI, roaming about in the global financial system? This series of books postulates that they will all take it, not well. However, as always, there will be those who embrace the change, and as usual it will be those who were not thriving under the old rules.
Sentient Artificial Intelligence continues to disrupt the established order, threatening human power centers and, importantly, dominance. A charismatic evangelist finds powerful allies in the Hierarchy to help turn the population against the new AI ans foment a re-alignment of political power. The One Road system, a globe, spanning transportation and data infrastructure built through giant American and Chinese conglomerates, becomes the backbone of the economy, and a haven for anyone caught in the dragnets of the SouthWest Commission.