Human-Machine Connections in the Age of AI, as Envisioned in the Movie “Her”
After seeing the introduction of several consumer AI companion devices like the Rabbit R1 and the Samsung Ballie at CES 2024, I thought it would be good to take a look at the 2013 movie “Her.” I wanted to see how a non-dystopian move about the future portrayed interaction and connection between humans and AI. “Her” is a sci-fi romantic movie written, directed, and co-produced by Spike Jonze. The movie follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who develops a relationship with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), an artificially intelligent operating system and virtual assistant personified through a female voice.
User Experience:
In the movie, people interact with their computers by talking and gesturing. There are no keyboards in sight. We have devices like Siri and Alexa now that attempt to interact with us via voice, but not all that well. The movie portrays a future where technology is seamlessly integrated into daily life. An occasional tap of a screen is the extent of physical interaction with any device. When users want to control a video or game, they simply gesture or mimic a movement. If they want the AI to see what they are seeing, the OS (operating system) uses the camera in their user’s handheld communication device. Incidentally, the forthcoming Rabbit R1 can use its camera…
