Artificial intelligence has already changed people’s lives, both at home and at work, but what happens when people start treating AI as a replacement for their loved ones? Filmmaker Taika Waititi explores this terrifying idea with his new sci-fi movie, Klara and the Sun. Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows Klara, a solar-powered “Artificial Friend” played by Jenna Ortega, as she bonds with Josie, a sick teenager.
Klara and the Sun paints an unusual, unsettling portrait of a world with AI. Essentially The Wizard of Oz meets Blade Runner, Waititi’s dystopian film is filled with his brand of vibrant visuals and quirky humor. But beneath all that, the film tells a deeper, more serious story about AI and whether it can cause the downfall of society and human connection.
How is Klara different from other AI?
In the world of science fiction, Klara is a unique depiction of an AI android. She doesn’t start as a superintelligent being with all the world’s knowledge at her disposal. Instead, she’s very much a child in a robot body, ignorant about the world outside of the store where Josie found her. The solar-powered droid even sees the Sun as a god who lives in a barn and answers her prayers.
Though the other Artificial Friends have their own quirks, Klara is considered unusual even to them because of her childlike wonder and optimism. She sometimes acts like a dog, always excited and anxious for love, but the movie doesn’t play her off as a dim-witted pet or a cold-hearted machine.
Like any other person, Klara grows and learns more about the world each day. At first, she has trouble walking outside and calibrating to her surroundings. She then learns to go out on her own in the hopes of making Josie well again. In films like The Terminator and The Matrix, AI is an all-powerful threat that tries to destroy humanity. Klara and the Sun, meanwhile, depicts more sympathetic androids, with its mechanical hero offering love and hope to those in her care.
Can AI replace humans?
In an age when AI is part of the workforce and when people have lost jobs, including in filmmaking, Klara and the Sun invokes a relatable, widespread fear of being replaced by machines. Initially, Josie’s housekeeper, Melania (Rachel House), feels that fear and despises Klara the moment she moves into their home. The film doesn’t limit that fear to the workforce, as Josie develops it as well.
As her health worsens, Josie is forced to watch her mother, Chrissie (Amy Adams), and boyfriend, Rick (Aran Murphy), spend more time with Klara. Since Ortega’s character can imitate anyone’s voice and mannerisms, she can be a near-perfect replacement for Josie. This understandably drives a wedge between Klara and Josie, who is already desperate for a place to belong in the world.
Eventually, the film reveals that Chrissie plans to have Klara’s mind inhabit a robotic copy of Josie so she can “live on” after the real Josie dies. It’s terrifying to imagine a parent trying to replace her child with a machine, but the way technology is advancing shows how much easier it may become for AI to take a person’s place in the world.
While some characters in the film try to replace humans with machines, Chrissie tries to make her daughter compete with them. As a severe perfectionist, Chrissie tries to have Josie become more efficient by “lifting” her genetics, giving her advanced academic skills on par with a machine’s. However, the film shows it is harder for humans to copy machines, as the lifting process slowly kills her.
But like Josie, Klara is at risk of becoming “obsolete.” She is a discontinued model of Artificial Friend who was considered “too humanlike” and “too empathetic.” Her “flaws” initially drive Chrissie to hate her, as she prefers to have one of the more “advanced” models instead.
Though people fear AI becoming more like humans, the film highlights an even scarier truth: people want humans to be “less human.” Employers and businesses have started using AI because it can complete tasks quicker than humans. In the movie, both Klara and Josie are expected to change themselves to become more efficient, showing that AI isn’t the real threat; it’s a society that demands perfection. As a result, Klara and the Sun warns viewers against replacing those around them with machines.
Can AI be real friends?
At the heart of Klara and the Sun is the titular robot’s friendship with Josie, and their relationship raises questions about humans looking to machines for companionship. Klara and the other Artificial Friends are the solution to a world without the Internet, which was taken down for its role in starting World War III. Since the Internet has been essential to connecting people, it’s understandable that people rely on buying Artificial Friends to combat loneliness.
Though some characters try to replace people with AI, Chrissie and others like her consider androids like Klara just as replaceable. The latter is even likened to a slave or a pet who can be returned or abandoned in the wilderness.
Although Klara provides Josie with friendship, she alone can’t fill the emptiness left by her distant mother. Instead, Klara helps mother and daughter mend their broken relationship. However, technology alone doesn’t solve their problems. It all comes down to both of them communicating their feelings and learning to understand each other.
Ultimately, Klara and the Sun doesn’t condemn AI. Its android protagonist helps the human characters and makes them feel loved and accepted. At the same time, Klara reveals the dangers of people trying to replace each other with AI. The movie doesn’t sacrifice its message about love and friendship. While Klara is artificial, her bond with Josie is real and meaningful. The movie suggests AI can improve people’s lives, but not at the cost of connecting with other humans and accepting each other’s imperfections.
Klara and the Sun premieres in theaters on October 23.