Her is a 2013 film that is formally categorized as “science fiction” but perhaps should be considered technologically dystopian. The protagonist Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) develops an intense emotional, bodiless romantic relationship with the voice of an artificial intelligence personal assistant program – Samantha.
H Samantha of the movie is simply a more advanced form of the “digital secretaries / assistants” that are already in widespread use (like Siri, etc.): she is smart enough not only to help Theodore with various somewhat boring computer tasks, but to discuss any topic with him. She “learns” his character, interests and concerns, and evolves from “servant” to “companion”, always remaining just a voice…
Although such an emotional relationship with machines might seem like excessive fantasy, the basic components are already present. The dependence on the personal remote control of daily life (the so-called “smart phone”) has already progressed to such an extent that even the question of what will happen when this remote control becomes even “smarter” with artificial intelligence and machine learning concerns millions of “users” – and it doesn’t require much imagination to answer.
Before the creation of the “internet of emotions”, generalized mechanical mediation creates in daily life a kind of “bank of feelings and relationships”. This is capital, and as such it will be exploited…