Oprah Winfrey picked “Culpability” by Bruce Holsinger as her latest book club selection. Winfrey said the novel explores artificial intelligence and moral responsibility, topics many are currently grappling with.
“I picked it because it is so prescient. It is prescient. It is right now. And it is also the future,” Winfrey said. “If you were looking for the summer read, this is it, ” she said.
The timing of her selection felt especially relevant after Winfrey attended an event that featured demonstrations of self-driving cars.
“I had just been to one of those tech conferences, and I had seen a demonstration of Waymo—the driverless cars, self-driving cars,” she said.
The novel examines themes of accountability in the age of AI through the story of a family whose self-driving minivan crashes into an oncoming car, killing an elderly couple.
Winfrey described the central characters as “a typical great American family.”
“What happens to the family in ‘Culpability’ could be any family,” she said.
Author Bruce Holsinger said he wrote the book to explore how artificial intelligence affects people’s sense of moral responsibility and autonomy in daily life.
Holsinger recalled the moment he got Winfrey’s call about the book.
“I pick up the phone, and, um, I hear this voice, and it says, ‘Bruce.’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And she says, ‘It’s Oprah.’ And I—first of all, I thought it was AI-generated.”
He said he intentionally used shorter chapters to keep the story suspenseful.
Winfrey agreed the structure works well: “Because you’re feeling so accomplished. Another chapter.”
She also warned readers not to skip ahead.
“Do not under any circumstances cut to the end. Because the end is gonna shock you no matter what,” Winfrey said.
