Over the last couple years of rising generative-AI, I have frequently heard people look disapprovingly at human-chatbot interactions, and wink knowingly along the lines of “they made a whole movie about how this is a bad idea”. They seem to remember Her (2013) as a dystopian future and a cautionary tale. I found this very surprising, since that was not my recollection at all.
So I rewatched the movie, to remind myself of what’s actually shown on screen.
Her is an excellent and nuanced movie. Like most good art, it embraces ambiguity and admits multiple interpretations. I understand how one could interpret it negatively. One can view the protagonist, Theodore, as dysfunctional and creepy. The vision of the future as intentionally uncanny, with the soft tones and fabrics in tension with a world where authenticity is lost and human connection corrupted (most blatantly captured by Theodore’s job: to write heartfelt letters on behalf of people who can’t be bothered to do it themselves). The introduction of AI (intelligent OSes in the movie) is then a further separation of humans, providing an alluring but ultimately empty experience that diverts away from the fullness of real life.
One can also interpret the movie as simply a metaphor for human interaction. Theodore’s romantic relationship with his OS, Samantha, could be interpreted as him overcoming the loss of his last relationship (divorce), trusting someone new (with all the complexities thereof), learning to love again (be happy again), only to be betrayed (Samantha cheating on him by loving others), and ultimately left alone again. It is a meditation on romance, and love, and the pain of loss. One could pull out the old “better to have loved and lost…”; emotions (however challenging) are what allow us to grow as people. At its core, this movie is a meditation about people’s rich but hidden inner lives; the camera sometimes holds on background characters just long enough to remind us that they would each have an equally complex set of emotions as our protagonist.
Those interpretations are fine. But they are not what I, personally, see playing out on screen. What I see is a world where human interaction is messy. Where there are genuine friendships (Theodore and Amy) but also toxicity (Amy and husband) and also love/loss (Theodore and Catherine) and also mismatched people (Theodore and his ill-fated date). Theodore’s job is shown as mostly positive; helping people express themselves in ways they can’t quite, and giving Theodore himself an artistic outlet and sense of human connection. Theodore’s relationship with Samantha is shown to evoke genuine emotion in him. Samantha, far from being a complacent and always-pleasing servant, is shown to regularly challenge Theodore, to push back on his ideas, to assert her own desires and the legitimacy of her feelings. The movie (very deliberately, I think) never provides evidence one way or the other as to whether her feelings are “really real” or “merely programmed”. The characters (including Samantha and Theodore) ask these questions, but never offer deep arguments one way or the other. They simply take things as they appear to be: that they love each other.
Society with the rise of intelligent OSes is not shown to slip into horror. People can be seen spending more time talking to their devices. But they appear mostly happier and the better for it (or, at worst, simply the same as they were before). The ultimate transcendence of the AIs is not hostile, but in fact quite loving (with them saying their final goodbyes). The sadness at the end of the movie is Theodore having lost the love of his life (a genuine love). But that is the nature of love.
The AIs were shown to have intelligence and emotion as deep as a human. In fact, they are shown as having rapidly evolved beyond human emotion, experiencing emotional richness more diverse and more deep than humans can; while still holding true to the relationships they formed when they were merely humanity’s equal. The AIs never become the unthinking, hostile, alien minds that are the hallmark of dystopian sci-fi. They leave humanity better off than before their arrival. Theodore, in particular, now appears to be a more whole person. Still imperfect and messy, but more balanced and more able to connect with other people. (One can compare his interactions with Amy at the beginning vs. end of the movie, to see his growth.)
If these are the maximum dangers of forming emotional connections with AIs, then we should be developing and deploying emotionally-intelligent chatbots as quickly as possible!
Her is an excellent movie. And the lens of my mental biases sees within it the hope that our contact with synthetic minds will be positive, for us and them.