The technical advance of artificial intelligence in recent years rekindles the anxiety over a scenario where a created being would turn on its creator. Science fiction since the early 20th century has featured such plots as AI rebellion, AI takeover, AI-controlled society and human dominance, in which human beings and AI are understood as hostile to each other. Such anxiety has prevailed in literary imaginations and popular culture since the 19th century, as early as Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein. My point in this paper is that the anxiety over AI is not new but already existent in human history. For example, the postbellum Southern United States also witnessed the anxiety over black dominance during the Reconstruction Period. This paper will focus more on the mechanics of othering than the representation of AI in literature and popular culture. It proposes to recognize the anxiety over revengeful AI as an extension of the language of othering and dominance, which can be found in texts of or about, colonialism, slavery, gender or any other form of divisions. This paper will specifically focus on Flanery O’Connor’s short story “The Artificial Nigger” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.

“The Artificial Nigger” presents how the racism towards an imagined concept of “Negro” absurdly serves to reunite a white boy Nelson and his grandfather Mr. Head after they have had a quarrel. It is when they see a statue of a “Negro,” an “artificial nigger,” that they suddenly burst into laughter and become reconciled with each other. In this scene, racism symbolized by the “artificial Negro” is represented as a quasi-religion because they both feel their differences dissolve like an action of mercy. Racism in the story is essentially used to unite the white community by othering African Americans. The story unveils that the notion of “Negro” is the mere imagination of the white community and has nothing to do with the African Americans. Never Let Me Go articulates another aspect in othering: the ownership of people’s body. The novel revolves around human clones created to “donate” their organs to human beings. The notion of organ transplantation is reminiscent of the bodily exploitation in slavery, while it also broadens the vision of othering and questions the practices that undermine communities of people or AI for the integrity of the privileged communities.

Through the examination of the two works, this paper eventually aims to call into doubt what Isaac Asimov calls the “Frankenstein complex,” which is essentially based on a master-slave narrative deeply rooted in atrocious historical events like imperialism and slavery. In the face of AI, we should look at history and find solutions to the existent inequality and social divisions, so that when someday AI become more than just tools that benefit human life, we could negotiate a way of coexistence rather than repression and othering.

This paper explores the implicit role of companionship in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021) by examining the bond between two technologically marginalized characters: Klara, an outdated B2 model Artificial Friend, and Rick, an “unlifted” boy who has not undergone genetic enhancement. While existing scholarship has focused on the bond between Klara and her owner Josie, this study shifts attention to Klara’s companionship with Rick, arguing that their common experience of social exclusion fosters a unique form of solidarity. Drawing on Barbara Rosenwein’s theories of companionship as a means of transcending exclusive social stratification, I demonstrate how the companionship between Klara and Rick, rooted in physical and emotional support, mitigates their sense of loneliness while critiquing the social atomization and interpersonal indifference of the privileged elites. A further comparison with Ishiguro’s earlier novel Never Let Me Go (2005) reveals how Ishiguro depicts humanity as challenged by a hierarchical society shaped by technologies including AI and cloning, and needs to be reaffirmed on the basis of empathy and mutual care. By underscoring humanity as a dialogically constructed instead of inherent trait, this essay aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on literary reconceptualization of (non-)humanity, a theme that serves as the central theme of both Ishiguro’s oeuvre and literary studies on posthuman literature.

The academic community has already widely recognized the intermedia writing in the work The Unconsoled. This paper explores the relationship between the artistic philosophy and political justice conveyed by Kazuo Ishiguro in his intermedia writing. The small Central European city in the novel is plunged into an inexplicable crisis, and the citizens place high hopes on art, especially expecting the arrival of the protagonist, Ryder, to resolve this crisis. However, Ryder’s absurd experiences seem to confirm Plato’s view that art should be banished from the “Republic”. However, the exploration of various musical genres and art forms in the novel, along with its polyphonic writing and Kafkaesque experimental style, illustrates the close relationship between art and politics. The paradox of the use of art is shown in a humorous way, implying a contest between dependent art and autonomous art. The novel suggests that dependent art, represented by mass art, weakens the perceptual consciousness of the people. Commercial temptation and political manipulation lead people into a state of being unconsolable. Meanwhile, the people in crisis have already begun to develop a consciousness of change under the enlightenment of modern/postmodern music, experiencing painful metamorphosis, seeking the path to future freedom and happiness, and striving to build a just and good life.

Never Let Me Go employs the nonhuman clone Kathy as a first-person narrator to explore the character development and life choices of herself and her two clone companions. Existing studies, both domestic and international, have primarily focused on the ethical implications of cloning, critiques of dystopian biopolitics, and explorations of identity and agency in Ishiguro’s works. However, a gap remains in addressing the ethical dynamics between individual and community coexistence among clones. This paper applies the framework of ethical literary criticism to examine the clones’ “othered” identities, conflicting moral dilemmas, and compromised ethical choices as they navigate interactions within both human and clone communities. The analysis reveals two key findings: First, the transition from opposition to coexistence reflects the clones’ intrinsic identity consciousness, emotional capacities, and struggles with their destinies, presenting them as ethically complex beings rather than mechanical entities. Second, their pursuit of ethical understanding symbolizes the growing significance of ethical considerations in contemporary and future human societies. This study critically reflects on the ethical dilemmas posed by biotechnological and AI advancements in high-tech contexts. It also highlights the deliberate efforts of ethnic writers to integrate teaching values in cloning narratives, showcasing literature’s role in fostering ethical awareness and navigating the moral challenges of technological progress.