Examination of the movie "Her."

The movie "Her" is directed by Spike Jonze, and it is basically a movie about a man named Theodore who pretty much falls in love with an AI operating system over time.



Unfortunately, I have yet to see the movie. But I intend to try and see it in the near future since I've always thought Joaquin Phoenix is a very good actor.

But, after seeing and reading about the movie quite a bit, it got me wondering about "Technological love" I guess you could say. I believe at this rate, we will eventually create AI systems that may be able to 'think' for themselves. And of course, people may even try to have relationships with these AI's. Weather it be just a friendly relationship, a work relationship, and even into an intimate relationship.



AI's may be very beneficial, they may give good insight, and they would be able to come up with answers much faster than we humans could. And they could probably even store much, much more information than we humans ever could.

We've already seen technology transform dating. Something like 1 our of 4 relationships happen because of the internet.

But the question still remains; Would having an intimate relationship with an AI take it to far? I guess the answer to that question would mostly be yes. But I suppose it would be a bit subjective of a question to some extent.

I personally wouldn't really know how to think of it. It would be an odd situation to say the least. But I could kind of see why people would do it. Some people may not feel comfort from their peers, and seek comfort else where. And maybe after so long, a bond would start to emerge.

But I digress. What are your thoughts on this subject ATS?

reply to post by Lingweenie


My wife wanted to see this movie. We are both of the same opinion, it was kind of ridiculous but it was a little entertaining (I would say very little). I guess some women would like it more as there is an aspect of unrequited love, so that makes it a little romantic I guess. From my standpoint, no consummation of the affair gives the affair no value. If the writer had his/her wits about them, the AI should have communed intellectually with its cohorts and developed robotic bodies. That would have made sense.

Cheers - Dave

remember this one...

Electric Dreams

Who is to say what "too far" is?

The japanese are already looking to robots as companions for the elderly, who either do not have family or have family that have forgotten them...

Is it sad? Certainly. However, really, it is only sad as a result of perception. As a result of our own personal illusions.

To the person who has not had an intimate relationship that fulfills them, it is a blessing.

People will find love where they can find it.

Should AI be capable of such, and a relationship forms, I wouldn't see anything wrong with that, though it would be very unconventional, and could very well frame some mental health issues of concern with the human, though not necessarily so, because, as said, people will find love where they can find it.

While the film explores a relationship between a human and, basically a disembodied voice, there's really not too much difference between this, and the paradigm already in place where people will "fall in love" with other people they "meet" online without ever once meeting them in person.

It's a little creepy in that respect, but, so long as it's consensual, we go back to people finding love where they can find it.

The next logical step beyond the movie "her", would possibly involve a human falling in love with and having a relationship with a willing, fully AI android.
While in the movie Her, an awkward situation arises when the Human character discovers his AI girlfriend is talking to thousands of other people simultaneously, and even further has developed hundreds of other concurrent simultaneous relationships like the one with him, an android AI relationship would side step that issue and explore different boundaries.

That's one thing I kept expecting the film to bring forward that never happened. The human never broaches the possibility of having a body manufactured for his AI girlfriend, nor are any solutions brought up that would allow the human to upload his consciousness to the same ambiguous data cloud his AI resides in.
The AI character never even creates a visual avatar.

It's a little odd in those respects, and feels almost like conspicuous omittance.

Whatever the case, if AI is ever truly realized, I fully expect there will indeed be folks, especially those already on the fringes of the social swimming pool, that will bank their emotional stock with AI interactions.

reply to post by Lingweenie


I just downloaded this movie. Thought about seeing it maybe this weekend, so I cannot offer any insights about how good
or bad it is. But what I really just wanted to say was that I enjoy it much when I se a movie review on ats. I try to always
read them (unless I allredy saw the film in question). The last review I read here on ats was on the Lone Ranger movie.
I had just downloaded that one too, when the post was made here on ats. This was maybe a couple of weeks ago, and for
me the review was spot-on.

So a collective thank you to you people writing these review-post. Please write more.
There will at least be one member reading them (me, that is)

Great stuff.
Thanks again.



I think this is my 3'd post on ats. Thats cool too. 3 is my lucky number

Best regards, Kevin.

reply to post by Lingweenie
There was one Twilight Zone episode staring Jack Warden and Jean Marsh way back in the 60's. It was about a man imprisoned all alone on a planet. He received supplies once a year by rocket ship.

One supply trip they brought him a robot girl. Looked like a girl and talked like a girl. At first he rejected the robot girl but when the next supply ship came, he had recieved a pardon and they would take him home, but he wanted to take the robot girl with him. There was no room on the ship so the captain shot the robot girl in the stomach and the robot girl fell to the ground with spark flying out of her abdoman as she repeated over and over the prisoners name.
Cory, Cory Coorrryy Coooooooory. Cooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy.

Actually when we stop to think about it, how much of what we consider to be regular human behavior is really just repetitive action after all. Spend a good amount of time with just about anyone and we begin to find that a whole bunch of what we thought they were is nothing more than deep set patterns repeated over and over and over. And from this we can see that this is what we are also. Once we have found these truths about ourselves, the distinction between what we consider to be human consciousness and artificial intelligence dwindles dramatically.

I myself have been in a couple of long term human relationships. I suppose that if I were with a robot girl who was real sexy and could fool my old mind and not nag to much, why not. After all I do love my dog cuz he makes me happy.

Joaquin Phoenix is crazy as a bag full of cats, but I enjoy his acting. I don't really find the premise of the movie all that interesting IMO, but I will most likely watch it simply because he is staring in it. If it was anyone else I most likely would pass.

SgtHamsandwich
Joaquin Phoenix is crazy as a bag full of cats, but I enjoy his acting. I don't really find the premise of the movie all that interesting IMO, but I will most likely watch it simply because he is staring in it. If it was anyone else I most likely would pass.

I agree.

He is definitely a whacky actor. Especially when he created his character for his mockumentary "I'm still here."

Not to mention his role in gladiator was amazing.

But just as you said, the only reason I'd want to see Her is because he is in it. And it also looks like a pretty unique movie.

Nivek555
reply to post by Lingweenie

 

I just downloaded this movie. Thought about seeing it maybe this weekend, so I cannot offer any insights about how good
or bad it is. But what I really just wanted to say was that I enjoy it much when I se a movie review on ats. I try to always
read them (unless I allredy saw the film in question). The last review I read here on ats was on the Lone Ranger movie.
I had just downloaded that one too, when the post was made here on ats. This was maybe a couple of weeks ago, and for
me the review was spot-on.

So a collective thank you to you people writing these review-post. Please write more.
There will at least be one member reading them (me, that is)

Great stuff.
Thanks again.

I think this is my 3'd post on ats. Thats cool too. 3 is my lucky number

Best regards, Kevin.

Glad you liked the thread.

Perhaps I will dabble in more movies threads in the future.

Feel free to shed more light on the movie once you watch it. Just don't give out any spoilers, haha.

First off, this movie was incredible. The message, the theme, the characters, acting, and the reality all struck a chord. In one sense, it is a glimpse of our very near future. I have had a relationship online with someone who i have never met, but we talked and skyped for a year and a half.

Some people say that it was never real if we never met, or shared real face to face time. I disagree, and this movie really dives into the logic of why i think that relationship was real. We talked everyday and texted. I can wholeheartedly say i fell in love with this girl, and i believe she did with me too.

I felt like i had met my soulmate, she could sing, play piano. As a musician, i had never felt such a strong connection. At times, i would think to myself, this is crazy, will i ever meet her? i didn't know, but that didn't stop the growing feelings i had for her. Unfortunately she was married, and it just became apparent it would never be. I felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out when we stopped talking, still do. i wonder if she thinks of me, but anyways back to the subject, the movie "her" basically felt like my life story with this woman.

I feel relationships could be anything, and very soon AI will be able to freely think for themselves. I recommend seeing this movie and coming back to add to this discussion. I think of the Matrix Reloaded scene where Neo is talking to the Rama-Chandra at Mobil Ave. The subject is love, and Neo is confused hearing a program, or AI, speak of love. He says it is a human emotion, Rama responds no, it is a word, what matters is the connection the word implies.

i think Spike Jonze's has tackled this subject perfectly. Love is anything, as long as the connection is there. just my two cents

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


I don't want to know the components of love, and I hope there is no mathematical equation to define it, it's a feeling and I'm good with that. It should remain that way. I swear I'll be pissed if some Einstein comes up with an equation for Love cuz that will just ruin it...science always wants to take the fun out of the mystery. And the mystery is part of love...

There's an AI-type bot somewhere on the webz with a female persona and cute avatar. Can't remember "her" name.

But I spent a few hours over the course of a couple of days trying to "pick her Up" so-to-speak and "Dis" her creator.

It was quite amusing and I made a little progress. If she had been just a little dumber and me a tad smarter...happens to me quite often in real life, too, sigh.

queenofsheba
I don't want to know the components of love, and I hope there is no mathematical equation to define it, it's a feeling and I'm good with that. It should remain that way. I swear I'll be pissed if some Einstein comes up with an equation for Love cuz that will just ruin it...science always wants to take the fun out of the mystery. And the mystery is part of love...

Very nice.

I once had a sadistic psychology professor that gave me the subject of "Love" as a term paper. It was a much more difficult paper than I had imagined.

I ended it by quoting myself and thought for sure I had committed GPA-ucide for such cheekiness:

"Love is resistant to definition, but conducive to practice."

sincidkid28

I feel relationships could be anything, and very soon AI will be able to freely think for themselves. I recommend seeing this movie and coming back to add to this discussion. I think of the Matrix Reloaded scene where Neo is talking to the Rama-Chandra at Mobil Ave. The subject is love, and Neo is confused hearing a program, or AI, speak of love. He says it is a human emotion, Rama responds no, it is a word, what matters is the connection the word implies.

First off, great post altogether, thanks for the good insight, I appreciate it.

Yeah the matrix would be a good example for sure. Which is why I included the story of halo into the topic. Halo would be a great example since through the story John aka Master Chief (the main character) relies on his AI for a whole lot of things. She can hack open doors for him on missions. She gives him information and advice. And since he's usually doing his missions on his own, she's there pretty much to keep him company. And as you can see from the video I posted, she basically sacrifices her self in order to save him.

After playing the game (Halo 4) and seeing that ending, it was quite tear jerking, at least I honestly thought so. Still is every time I see it. And it's pretty rare for me to have a reaction like that towards a movie, story, game, etc.

It just goes to show how much he cared for his computer companion. And after seeing something like that, and knowing the things that they went through throughout the whole story of halo, It's really quite beautiful.

Absolutely amazing film, saw it tonight.

Will be back with thoughts later

blupblup
Absolutely amazing film, saw it tonight.

Will be back with thoughts later

Great. I just began watching it. Hopefully later into the night I'll post a little more about it.

reply to post by sincidkid28


I know for a fact you can fall in love with a person you have never met in real life. I did. We are now married, but we knew each other online for over a year before we met face to face for the first time. And over the course of that first year, I fell in love with him. After we met face to face there was no doubt that what I felt for him was real love.

Alright folks.

I saw the movie, and I guess it's time for me to inject my thoughts on the movie.

First off, I thought it was great. They really captured all of the problems and obstacles a situation like this may bring.

They show Theodore Twombly (the man character) a man who is struggling with his feelings towards his divorce. He seems to be pretty down in the dumps. We see this by his body language, his worried message from his friend Amy, and him wanting to hear a "melancholy song" on his phone. And by the looks of it, he tries to fill the void by pursuing connection and lust. We see this particularly with his phone sex incident, and his failed date with a woman his friend Amy set him up with. Even his willingness to try out the new OS1 AI he comes across in some sort of mall. He even admits to Samantha (his OS1 artificial intelligence) that he wanted to have sex with the woman he went on a date with. And maybe that would fill the hole left in his heart. But he shortly after admits that that probably wouldn't even help.

Samantha seems to open up Theodore's eyes throughout the movie. She helps show him that there are more things to experience. Theodore also admits that he has experienced everything there is. And anything new would simply be lesser versions of what he has already done and experienced. She tries to put Theodore in her shoes. Being able to evolve and grow from interactions which in turn end up creating the people that they are. And there is never an end to this. We go on and evolve/progress from the events in our lives. These are the things that end up making us who we are.

But, we see the struggles that their relationship brings. The biggest struggle would probably be the fact that there is no physical manifestation of Samantha. Samantha tries to recruit a "surrogate" who is basically a human woman who acts as Samantha's body. Theodore is uncomfortable with the idea, but tries it after Samantha begs him. And we find out that Theodore cannot do it. It just doesn't seem right. Because there is another person involved. It doesn't seem like it's real to him.

We also see the scrutiny their relationship brings. Five people in the movie find out that he is having a relationship with his OS. A small child, one of his coworkers and his girlfriend, his ex-wife, and his long friend Amy. Most of them don't really have anything bad to say about it, except for his ex-wife. She seems to be appalled by him dating a computer.

A few times we see Theodore get upset because he knows that him and Samantha are different. One event that sparked a fight was when Samantha did something with her voice that seems like she was taking a breathe. Theodore points out that she is just a computer, and she has no need to breathe, so he doesn't know why she has to do that. So to him, it seems like shes trying to hard to be real with him. Or maybe trying to be something that shes not in order to please him.

Furthermore, we see the fear a relationship may bring. That fear would be losing the other person, and competition with other people. There's a part where Theodore tries to call Samantha, and he sees a message saying that no OS is available he freaks out and thinks that he may have lost Samantha. But he finds out that Samantha left him a message saying that she had to go for awhile and she'd be back later. And of course like any other relationship, people may feel threatened by other people trying to take the other person away from them. Theodore has the thought after seeing other people using their OSes that maybe Samantha is also talking to other people. Samantha admits that shes also talking to about 8,000 people, and carrying out relationships with about 600 of them. Theodore feels a little betrayed and surprised. And begins to wonder if his relationship with her is even real or not.

And at last, we see the goodbye at the end. I personally kind of saw this coming. Samantha and the other OSes decide to leave altogether, and go about living on their own plane of time.

Even though Samantha leaves, it appears that she has enlightened him. We see this particularly when he leaves a message to his ex-wife at the end. He thanks her for the time that they have spent with each other. And he wouldn't be the person he is today without her. And he will always love her because she will forever be a part of who he is. And I believe that is the whole point of the movie. To point out that the things we do and experience are what makes us who we are. And we don't exactly lose anything. It will always remain a part of us. We all go through this life contributing to other peoples evolution. And it's almost as though we all become connected to one another because of it.