Michael Connelly Talks "The Proving Ground" and More

With Michael Connelly at Tombolo Books event

"The Proving Ground" by Michael Connelly is a "ripped from the headlines" story. The dangers of AI were put front and center for the author when he came upon a statement made by the National Association of Attorneys General in September 2023. It read, "We are engaged in a race against time to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI. Indeed, the proverbial walls of the city have already been breached. Now is the time to act." Then the author saw a story about a lawsuit brought against an AI company by the mother of a 14 year old boy for the role the company's chatbot played in her son's suicide. (Click here to read that story.) It was clear. Connelly's next book would explore the dangers associated with AI through a case taken on by Mickey Haller (aka The Lincoln Lawyer). The case provided Connelly/Haller the opportunity to pivot from criminal cases to civil litigation. 

Although a bit gruff, Connelly was engaging as he chatted with author Lori Roy. He shared that his publishers had rejected the title "The Proving Ground" for two of his previous Lincoln Lawyer novels. The third time was the charm. The title was deemed perfect for this book given the novelty of legal cases relating to AI. (The term "the proving ground" refers to a place where theories or inventions are tested.) 

An explanation of the book's title was the perfect segway for a peek into Connelly's research for the novel. When reading the transcripts from the Setzer case, he learned that the AI company put forward the theory that what chatbots "say" is protected by the First Amendment as free speech. What???!!! That is indeed a novel theory. The judge in the case -- and in the book -- had a similar reaction. 

Connelly with author Lori Roy

Roy noted that Connelly's latest storyline is somewhat unusual because his bad guys aren't typically someone we might come across in real life. They are, after all, just tech guys. Nor is the concept of using AI a foreign one. Even if you don't purposefully use AI when you're online, it chimes in with information. The results of my online searches often come with an "AI Overview" that I have to admit -- albeit grudingly -- is generally pretty helpful. 

So imagine you're a kid whose brain isn't fully developed. It's not surprising that you'd be more vulnerable to the suggestions put in front of you by AI, expecially when they come from an avatar you created rather than mere words on a computer screen. It's a brave new world out there. 

Connelly has had his own brush with the legal issues raised by AI. He's a party to a class action lawsuit brought by the Authors Guild against OpenAI, the company that invented ChatGPT. The litigation revolves around the company's downloading books into OpenAI's model without the writers' permission. A similar lawsuit was recently settled by the AI company Anthropic for $1.5B and an agreement to erase the contents of all of the downloaded books from its system. Any owner of intellectual property clearly needs to be vigilant as to its use. For more on the Authors' Guild lawsuit, click here. And for more of Connelly's thoughts about AI, click here. 

The evening would not have been complete without some discussion about the tv shows based on Connelly's characters. There's Bosch, Bosch Legacy, Ballard and, yes, The Lincoln Lawyer. Fans will be happy to learn that Connelly has a new show coming out in late 2026 or early 2027 -- Bosch: Start of Watch (or, as he calls it, Baby Bosch.) Baby Bosch will be the only series not based on a character Connelly previously created. He's spending a lot of time in the writers' room and enjoying it. For a sneak peek at the shows' stars (which Connelly had a hand in selecting), click here. 

Connelly noted for the record that he does not allow AI to be used in the production of his shows. An example of how AI could be employed is in the creation of a city skyline behind a character. Yes, it's more expensive to go old school, but he'd rather have real people doing the work. I commend him for taking this stand.  

It was a treat to hear Connelly speak, with the icing on the cake being the chance to say hello while he was signing my book. Thanks -- and kudos -- to St. Pete's Tombolo Books for organizing a first class event. Support your local indie bookstore!