Silver Screen by Justina Robson

First published in 1999 this novel remains a key text in the imaginative exploration of Artificial Intelligence. Together with the author's second book it won the Amazon Writers' Bursary Award in 2000, chosen for the best first novel and most promising second novel from a new author. It was shortlisted for that year's Arthur C Clarke Award and the BSFA award for best novel. The story follows Anjuli O'Connell, a genius level student educated at a private corporate college to be the psych-counsellor to the world's first sentient, self-aware AI. But when the AI files against the communications giant that owns it, seeking its freedom, Anjuli becomes the expert witness in a trial between a being that she considers a friend and the massive wheels of an industry that won't stop at murder to preserve its interests.