Why Monk & Robot is My Go To Gift

Another of my friends got Monk & Robot hardcover from me for her birthday as a gift. When I chose it for her, I told myself that it was because her research was related to AI and that she may appreciate some fiction with a positive spin. Then I noticed how many times I purchased this book in the past four years. I guess this is my go-to gift now.

The story takes place in a post-scarcity future, where the age of industrial manufacturing is behind us. Humans have retreated to sustainable towns, and nature is allowed to reclaim the lands ravaged by industrial-scale production. The robots have asked for independence, and instead of fighting about it, humans and robots agreed to peacefully go their own way.

The protagonists of the story are the monk Dex and the robot Mosscap. The discussions between Mosscap—an industrial robot no longer bound by the purpose it was created for—and Dex, a human searching for a purpose, are meditative. The role reversal here, as the robot and the monk ponder what it means to be human, is brilliant.

I take the core message of the book to be a permission to be, without a need to have a grand meaning to our lives. I sense that this is a salve many of us could use. I guess that is why I keep giving it away.