Anthropomorphism and Social Robotics in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021)

Abstract

Anthropomorphism is the universal human tendency to attribute human-like qualities to non-human beings to help one rationalise a situation or another's behaviour in various social environments. It is an essential human attitude that starts in childhood and continues throughout life. Social robots are those who interact socially with humans and display social features. These social robots are popular in science fiction novels and movies as they appear realistic and accurate to life. They are involved in everyday conversation with humans, indicating preferences and comparing real and fictional robots. Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021) reflects the behavioral, psychological, sociological, and technological facets of human-robot interaction (HRI) literature. Kazuo Ishiguro uses anthropomorphism to deliver what it means to be human; how people assign human-like qualities to social robots reflects their vision of a human being. Through AI consciousness and anthropomorphism, Ishiguro offers readers a chance to look at how we imagine ourselves and our creations, reminding them that the stories we tell about AI are also stories about us as humans. Anthropomorphism is not rooted in a specific belief system but in interaction, especially where one must establish a relationship with a non-human entity as if it were an actual human.