Robots, the Jetsons and artificial friends.
Technology has taken over. When I was growing up, we watched the Jetsons cartoon. The Jetsons were a family who lived in this futuristic world of 2062, who interacted with all this technology that seemed surreal - video calls, robotic vacuums, tablet computers, food making machines, drones, jetpacks, electric toothbrushes,robotic house help, flying cars, and smart watches. At the time, all of these things seemed highly improbable for my lifetime, but as I look around my home today lots of those things are not just invented, but in many U.S. homes. Technology’s evolution is impacting our lives in Jetson-like proportions. It still blows my mind to think about the last 35 years of development that has taken place during my life. Things I thought were just a figment of someone else’ imagination to be wondered at were
When I first read the Amazon summary of Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro, I held the same awe of the main character, and artificial friend, or robot as I did the Jetsons. I thought that this couldn’t possibly be a life that I’d see - where kids replace actual friends with an artificial robot. But when I closed my laptop, and used Alexa to set a timer, and my son asked Siri to check a fact on his iPad, I thought, “Maybe we’re not that far off.” This book, the adult book this month is like nothing I’ve ever read. First of all- reading about robots is not my first choice, but I decided to explore it since robots and technology assisting humans is not only my son’s future, but also our present. My nine year old is intrigued by robots, and loves this moslty wordless graphic novel, Little Robot by Ben Hatke. Perfect fit for June’s book pairing. So I ordered the book, and was hooked after a few chapters. The story is told from the perspective of Klara, the artificial friend (AF), who is purchased as a companion for Josie, a sickly child. Through a series of events, we see how Klara studies Josie, cares for and prioritizes her job of caring for Josie, as if she had human-like capabilities for care only to discover an alternate plan from Josie’s mother. I can say no more here without ruining the plot, but it did make me think about the far-off possibilities this book presents and how it relates to parenthood in the future.
In Little Robot, Ben Hatke presents a journey of friendship between a girl and her robot buddy, similar to Klara and the Sun. Here, our main character, the little girl finds a robot left in a junk pile. She repairs him and teaches him how to walk and interact with the world around him. Their journey of adventure and exploration in this 133 page almost wordless book is a relatable friendship story for young readers ages 6-10. The little girl and her robot buddy encounter a dangerous robot, who they discover just needs a little work to be friendly.
These are some questions for discussion with this month’s book pairing:
In what ways can robots and people be friends?
What jobs are robots better at than people?
Is there anything robots shouldn’t do with/for people?
Do you think that robots can ever have feelings?
How have you ever felt like a robot?
Should robots ever take the place of people?
When is too much technology?
Should there be a technology-free time for people?
What is a friend?
This month’s book pairing gave our family a lot to discuss. Hopefully you check out these two books and let us know what you think. Don’t forget to enter this month’s giveaway for June by clicking this link for a chance to win this month’s book pairing.
You can find the Amazon links to this month’s books here:
-Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishisguro
-Little Robot by Ben Hatke
