It’s a little embarrassing to admit that I’ve never read Ishiguro. We all have gaps, right?
I will admit that I have never picked up any of his books because when I was a kid I saw a bit of Remains of the Day on TV and thought it was a war movie, and I hate war movies.
(Dumb, I know, you don’t have to tell me that it’s the setting for the beginning of the movie but it’s not about WWII)
Anyway, he has a new book coming out called Klara and the Sun.
Why it’s interesting
The titular Klara is an “Artificial Friend” which is some kind of AI-powered affective robot that you take home from a store and learns about you.
Why we care
This is a bit of a leap since I’ve never read the guy’s books, but he has a reputation for emotional resonance. His best known and loved work (arguably) is Never Let Me Go, a book about clones raised to “donate” their organs. From what I’ve heard, the power of the story is the uncomfortable subject and marginal existence of the clones is powerful.
That makes me excited to read what he does with an embodied AI that’s a real life companion.
Links
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653825/klara-and-the-sun-by-kazuo-ishiguro/
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