Artificial Intelligence, Human Longing: Posthuman Ethics and Emotional Surrogacy in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

Abstract

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021) examines the intersections of artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence, and posthuman ethics through the lens of Klara, an Artificial Friend designed to provide companionship to lonely adolescents. This paper investigates how the novel reconfigures traditional humanist ideals-such as agency, consciousness, and moral responsibility-by presenting Klara not merely as a machine, but as an empathetic being who displays profound moral intuition. Drawing from posthumanist theory, affect studies, and AI ethics, the study argues that Klara’s role as an emotional surrogate redefines the human condition in a technologically mediated society. Ishiguro’s narrative presents a gentle yet powerful critique of the commodification of care, and questions what constitutes personhood in a world that is increasingly reliant on artificial emotional labor. These reflections expand the discourse on AI ethics and open pathways for future posthuman studies, particularly in understanding how literature anticipates the moral and social implications of emotional surrogacy.