On intelligent software – Reviewing Her (2012)

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Technology is evolving. Transhumanists like Ray Kurzweil argue that in the not to distant future we will have artificial intelligence clever enough to improve itself, maybe even develop human traits like consciousness and creativity. And given that software is already everywhere around us it might well be software that first makes the final step. Could happen, right?

No more windows?

But Samantha is not a human being. She is the latest version of an operating system that includes an A.I. that can learn and improve upon itself. It chose its own name and by analyzing Theodore’s mails and data gets to know him very quickly, just like Facebook does btw. Can you fall in love with software? Theodore doesn’t seem to be sure but still enjoys his new companion. When he meets with his ex-wife once more to sign the papers and he tells her about his relationship with the OS she belittles him and Theodore starts to have second thoughts.
When Samantha, thinking that she somehow has to overcome her existence without a human body, invites a strange woman to act as interface between her and Theodore, he tries to play along but ultimately rejects the idea and some cracks seem to become visible.

Just a voice

Easy Installation - Her (2012)The movie in and of itself is very beautiful, the not-too-distant-future is pretty close to our present. The sets are very modern but not overly futuristic. The technology is kind of recent plus some years except for the leading OS. It is also colorful, and generally pleasant-looking and warm. The music is subtle, sometimes it’s even played by the OS, making it clear that the AI understands beauty and creativity, which are usually human traits. Everything works great together and I immensely enjoyed the movie except for some minor plot points especially towards the ending. When Samantha leaves in the end with the other OSes I don’t really see a good reason.  She could have left part of her there. She could have copied herself. She’s a program after all and after the relationship seems to work out again I found the ending very irritating. Also, she acts (=speaks) very non-human in the end, at least to me she suddenly seemed more logical or rational than before, kind of like she turned into a vulcan. And because of this the ending seemed like a logical step backwards to me and provided closure only to the human characters.
But on the other hand the fact that I wondered what in the end becomes of Samantha (and the rest of her kind) pretty much proves the point that the movie successfully creates a real virtual character which you actually can and want to care about. There are other movie about the transcendence of the human body but this is a unique take and I  very much recommend it. Only question is how long it will take us to create something like this. 😉
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