Books & Culture: How a father and son are using AI to give Sibiloi a new audience

When author Dan Kairo, a retired doctor, wrote Sibiloi, he could not have imagined that one day scenes from his novel would be transformed into moving images using artificial intelligence.

But today, his son, Edwin Kiaraho, is turning the novel into a series of AI-generated videos, creating an unusual collaboration between traditional storytelling and cutting-edge technology.

Sibiloi is a fictional novel, majorly set in Northern Kenya, explores themes of identity, memory and change.

For Kairo, the project is more than an experiment with artificial intelligence. It is another way of getting his story into the hands—and now the screens—of more readers and viewers.

"When he explained what it entailed I was thrilled," Kairo says. "Videos would be other channels of getting the book to reach more people."

Edwin, who teaches artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University Africa, saw an opportunity in his father's novel.

"I saw an opportunity to extend storytelling beyond the page," Edwin says. "AI doesn't replace the author; it visualises what is already there. Working with my father made the project more meaningful because the story already had life."

Kairo on his part belives the 'meeting' between his son and Sibiloi was a 'perfect match'. "He teaches AI at the University and the book was there waiting to reach more people," adds Kairo.

The resulting project is already taking shape, with AI-generated videos covering the early chapters of Sibiloi. Edwin has been using artificial intelligence tools to translate elements of the written narrative into short visual sequences before assembling them into a coherent video.

For Kairo, seeing the first results was an eye-opening experience.

"When I saw the initial AI drafts of the video I must admit I was mesmerised at how far technology has come," he explains. "You feed a book into a machine and it gives back a visual version of the same. It was amazing and very welcome."

Yet the process is not as simple as feeding an entire novel into a machine and pressing a button.

According to Kairo, considerable time and effort goes into ensuring that the resulting images and sequences remain faithful to the original story.

"The videos reflect what is in the book but it takes time and much effort to achieve that," he says. "Sometimes it doesn't come out the way you expect it to; you re-do it a number of times till you get the right result."

That process also points to an emerging question in the relationship between artificial intelligence and literature: can technology enhance a writer's work without replacing the human imagination behind it?

For Kairo, the experience has not necessarily changed his view of AI because, by his own admission, he did not know much about the technology before the project.

Instead, he describes the experience as a discovery.

"I would put it this way; it was a new discovery and I am glad I did. I want to be part of the future early enough," he says. "AI is already changing the way things will work in future."

The project has also given the author an opportunity to collaborate creatively with his son.

"Working on the project with my son is very satisfying, and more so because he is enjoying it," Kairo says.

That generational dimension may ultimately be the most compelling part of the experiment.

Kairo represents a generation that grew up with the printed book as the primary vehicle for storytelling. Edwin belongs to a generation for whom stories increasingly compete for attention on smartphones, social media, streaming platforms and other digital spaces.

Their collaboration therefore goes beyond adapting a novel into video. It demonstrates how two generations can bring different forms of knowledge to the same creative work — the father providing the story and the son using new technology to help it travel further.

And for Kairo, reaching younger audiences is central to what comes next.

Once the AI video version is complete, he and Edwin intend to use it to reach more people, particularly younger audiences who are increasingly drawn to visual content.

"We intend to use it reach more people and particularly the younger generation who are more into watching things than reading, and also popularise the book," he says.

For Kairo, however, technology remains a means to an end: sharing the ideas contained in a book.

"When you write a book you are sharing ideas, be they real or fictional, so the more people you reach the more fulfilling it becomes."

That may be the most important lesson from the Sibiloi experiment. Artificial intelligence is not replacing the author's story. Instead, it is providing another route for that story to find an audience.

And in a collaboration that brings together a father who created the story and a son using technology to reimagine how it can be experienced, Sibiloi is beginning a second life—this time beyond the printed page.