What does Klara's final destination say about the moral and ethical considerations of integrating more AI into society? Did her fate bring to mind that of any people you know?

What did you think of the place where Klara is sent after Josie is finished with her?

What does this bring up about the moral and ethical considerations of integrating more AI into society?

Did her fate bring to mind that of any people you know?

To our shame, many people in our world today are left out, marginalized, and considered worthless. The problem of homeless people comes to mind, when cities try to clear them away from public view. The same forgotten fate often befalls old or sick pets abandoned or left in animal shelters. Will our country end up like Josie’s did?

We are a throwaway society in many ways and that may be what the author is trying to say at the end. It’s depressing in a way to think that having artificial beings might lead to more garbage and a greater threat to our planet

I agree with Anne C. Just last week, in my town, the homeless were asked to vacant a camp, as unfortunately there was too much rubbish. These people, and there were many, had 72 hours to vacate. We need to help the homeless. My heart also breaks for pets. We are fortunate to have a no kill humane society, but it amazes me when people give up there animals.

It was not the slow dignified fade she deserved, as the Mother had said, so it came as a surprise. The Mother may as well have handed Klara over to Mr. Capaldi, whose intent may have been more honorable. In the end, only Manager cared, and even she did not look back in the Yard. Perhaps she couldn’t.

Klara’s fade sadly reminded me of the fate of some of our society’s elderly, many having lived a full and vibrant life, each with their own story filled with love and sacrifice, successes and accomplishments, then fading alone and isolated in a nursing home. While integrating AIs into our society will have its own challenges, like their parts potentially ending up as unrecycled trash and pollution, it may perpetuate existing problems insofar as AIs may be considered as thinking, feeling beings.

I think the process for discarding the AFs was heartbreaking. They should "fade out" in the home (whether or not the child is still there) where they lived. Upon completion, parts should be recycled to make new AFs or other electronics.

I agree with -tmmarti- that the process could be compared to folks who end up in nursing homes. It all seemed so sad and lonely.

Klara's final destination tells a lot about the character of the Mother, who I think is the most despicable character in the book. Remember--Mother was treating Klara **like a daughter** throughout the book--hugging her, calling her honey, telling Klara that she would love her, if Klara would agree to incorporate herself into the AF version of Josie. When Josie survives, Mother doesn't need Klara anymore, and although it was never explicitly said, it was Mother's decision to throw Klara into the junkyard. Klara could have had a dignified slow fade in the house, but she was now useless to Mother, and perhaps an embarrassment. It is an interesting, although more vicious, parallel to Helen's behavior to Vance all those years ago.

My first thought was exactly what rebajane said. America is very much a throwaway society. When we're done we just pitch it without thinking about it. But as to triciat50's point about Mother throwing Klara away, is Josie culpable as well? Would Mother have kept Klara in the home if Josie asked her to?

That’s a good point, jeannew, and…perhaps? I don’t know, but I tend to think not. But I put more blame on Mother for several reasons: first, she’s the adult here. Josie is only a child, and a sickly and sheltered one at that. Second, Mother had a plan for Klara from the very beginning (remember in the store, how Mother asks Klara to walk like Josie? Mother admits to this plan later in the book). But the defining moment for me was when Mother told Klara that she would love her if Klara “became” Josie, if Josie had died. Mothers deviousness and dishonesty really hit me in Part Six, when Klara was in the dump.

It seems to me that the final destination revealed the complete lack of moral and ethical considerations in that society, but they also reflect our own throwaway of homeless and others not a part of the mainstream paradigm. Klara’s fate is similar to our nursing home culture where elderly people are housed and out of the way.

Ishiguro presents this situation to require the reader to think about this exact question. We can make artificial intelligence look human. What rights does this invention have? If it talks, thinks, and emphasizes like a human, is it not deserving of “human” rights? Or when it is outdated is it simply a machine? We must decide these things before we go willy-nilly into the future with junkyards full of robots reciting their memoirs. Perhaps that perspective will also help us to see where we can be more inclusive with all peoples in society.

The moral and ethical issues raised by Ishiguo in Klara's ending are no different than many homeless and old people face today, as pointed out by -tmmarti- and -mceacd-. We are very much a "throwaway" society, including people. The ending of the book was very troubling to me as I am older and without a family. Our society can't handle unwanted/unneeded people or pets today, let alone worry about how we handle AFs/AIs in the future.

I'll say again that I don't think Klara's end was all that tragic. It sounds heartless to let a sentient being just set there until it totally runs down, but in reality she was completely happy with her end. The store manager offered to move her, but she refused and seemed content.

Analogies can be drawn between Klara being discarded and how we treat older adults in our society (i.e., put them in a "home" to wind down until death) but I think the situations aren't comparable, and that it also depends on the individual. I know some older folks who were happy to move to retirement/assisted living housing, loving the fact that they have people around and didn't have to cook or clean for themselves, while others who've really, really hated it ("I don't like being with all these 'old people'"). So I think it depends.

I think that this is one of Ishiguro's most potent themes. We evolve through observation that enters us into a valuable family, community, or work support role. When our capacity to contribute declines, relocation happens, in incremental steps, to the outer realms of society. A retirement community or a nursing home. These are carefully out of view as our decline is a constant reminder that this will happen to you.

I agree with many comments regarding homeless and old people but particularly thought about Klara and those with memory disorders that are often left in the fields. Regarding the Mother--she was a paid manager that was most likely reimbursed on her sales performance. My guess was that she treated many of the AIs in a similar manner as Klara in order to keep her sales up without any disgruntled AIs. More to the question--why did the store fail?