What happens when AI becomes sentient? Is AI really the evil force driving towards a dystopian future?
“From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend watches the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside.
Klara remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her
… she is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans”
Nobel winning author Kazuo Ishiguro explores the theme in his latest book, ‘Klara and the Sun’
Sci-fi essentially is thought experiments of the future – What if scenarios played out – revealing our innermost hopes
And fears
Klara, the artificial friend to a sick girl, narrates the story as she assimilates the world around her beyond what she has been designed to be.
Of humans who are conflicted between treating her between a machine or a person. Feelings she seeks to interpret, observing nuances, conundrum and relationship dynamics that is so uniquely human, that it makes you almost root for her.
Kazuo’s spins up a dystopian future that borders on fantasy – one we co-habit with androids.
It explores the powerful questions we oft ask but don’t get answers to
‘What does it mean to be truly human? What do we miss when our loved ones are no more?
What makes our life worth living? What if the have vs the have nots of the future isn’t based on wealth, geography or caste but by modified genomes.
And finally how far will you go to protect the human who created you?
A beautiful tale – highly recommend if you are even passingly curious about AI.
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#reviewswithranjani
Rating – 4/5
Book #14 of 52 #Booksof2022