The Animal, the Artificial Intelligence, and the Author:: The Non-Human Intelligence in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novel Klara and the Sun

Abstract

This paper examines the presence of nonhuman intelligence in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, Klara and the Sun, which was listed in the Booker Prize, positing that the protagonist challenges the traditional boundaries between machine, animal, and human. By analysing Klara, an Artificial Friend defined by her solar dependency and acute observational skills, this study argues that Ishiguro redefines intelligence by moving away from anthropocentric and logic-based cognitive models. Through the close reading of Klara's segmented visual perception, this paper explores how her AI consciousness mimics the sensory processing of nonhuman animals rather than the narrative consciousness of humans. This 'otherness' is further examined through Klara's quasi-religious devotion to the Sun, suggesting that her love is a form of specialised nonhuman empathy that exposes the transactional nature of human relationships in the novel's dystopian setting. Moreover, this paper explores the idea of the author that he uses Klara to dismantle human exceptionalism, forcing a radical reconsideration of moral responsibility and individuality for all beings in this increasingly automated future.