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Artificial Intelligence and Friendship

7/14/2024

 
By Margaret Green, Library Committee

Is there an android, cyborg or biorobot in your future?
 
The development and ethical control of Artificial Intelligence is such a hot topic— and perhaps one of the most important issues of our time. Many people are using AI as a solution to the loneliness that is so present in today’s world. AI companions are tremendously popular. Nomi, Kindroid, Replika, Characher.ai, Candy.ai and other companion apps have accounted for over 200 million downloads in the Google Store.  ElliQ is a popular companion for seniors.
 
I recently read Klara and the Sun, an elegant and beautifully written novel by Noble Prize and Booker winner Kazuo Ishiguro.  Through Klara, an android Artificial Friend, Ishiguro explores the themes of friendship, loneliness and what it means to be human.  Ishiguro
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looks at the dangers and compromises inherent in unchecked technological advances, something he started in previous books Never Let Me Go and The Buried Giant.  A Guardian reviewer even suggested these three novels are in fact a trilogy, looking at the darker side of technology.
 
It is interesting to me that novels I have enjoyed with AI characters (Klara and the Sun, Machines and Me by Ian McEwan and The Murderbot Diaries, a series by Martha Wells) all explore the issues of human/AI interaction and loneliness, both human and AI.  Murderbot, a cyborg and the main character in the popular SciFi series, draws upon 1,000s of hours of soap operas he has watched, looking for scenarios to use as a guide in his interactions with humans.  I’ve never been a soap fan, but my mother loved The Young and the Restless, and I laugh every time I think of someone using that as a model for human behavior!
 
Klara and the Sun and Never Let me Go, both by Kazuo Ishiguro, are shelved in the Fiction section of the Coffman Library.
 
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, Machines and Me by Ian McEwan, and the eight titles in The Murderbot Dairies are all at the Ramsey County Public Library.

A Plan for Visits to the Library

7/1/2024

 
​By Mary Scanlan, originally published in the July 2024 issue of the 1666 Coffman Newsletter

When Tom and I first began making plans to simplify our lives by selling our house and moving to a more compact space, one of my first thoughts was that we had to move to 1666 Coffman. It was adjacent to our St. Anthony Park neighborhood, it was a beautiful building, Tom and I were both eligible ​(Tom taught in the Rhetoric Department, and I worked for several years in the German Department), and it had a Library!

We moved here in July of 2021. I have been exceedingly slow in unpacking and organizing our new lives. However, whenever I have felt stressed out, I go to the Library, browse the shelves, revisit books that have brought me pleasure, spend time paging through the Recently Arrived books section, check out a book I want to read—and then I leave the Library feeling refreshed and happy.
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At the moment, I have developed a plan for my library visits. I now own two books (one I bought, one was given to me by a friend) that contain long lists of books that the authors consider worth reading. One, 100 Novels That Changed the World by Colin Salter, gives a one-page summary of each book along with a brief commentary on why the book is important. The other, The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Scwalbe, is a memoir that covers the last two years that Will spent connecting with his mother as she battled cancer. The two of them loved books. Picking out their favorites and reading and discussing them together energized both of them. The book is a positive portrayal of the power of words.

​Many of the titles mentioned in these books are in our library. I am planning to donate both of these books to our collection. I hope that you, too, will find them useful. 

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  • Home
    • Virtual Tour
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    • Art Gallery >
      • Dreams & Woodcraft
      • Botanicals & Gold
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  • Activities
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    • Ongoing Activities
  • Residents' Realm
    • Newsletter
    • Coffman Office >
      • Coffman Calendars
      • Exchange
      • Resident Absence
      • Accident Form
      • Room Reservations >
        • Social Room Reservations
        • Dining Room Reservations
        • Guest Room Reservations
        • Other Room Reservations
    • Maintenance >
      • Maintenance Calendar
      • Trash
    • Governing Documents
    • Operational Documents >
      • 2024 Reserve Study
    • Board & Committees >
      • ad hoc HVAC Committee
      • Social Room Update
      • Garden >
        • Garden Contact
    • Emergency procedures
    • Suggestion Box
  • Library
    • News & Updates
    • Find & Check Out Books
    • Tour the Library
    • Recommended Reading >
      • Reader Reviews
      • Acquisitions
    • Book Night >
      • Book Night Archive
    • Donating Books
  • Available Units
    • Application Form
    • Condos for Sale
    • Floor Plans
  • Contact