Can an artificial intelligence harbor feelings? Director Spike Jonze premiered the film Her. We discovered what we can learn from Artificial Intelligence in the film ‘Her’.
Can an artificial intelligence harbor feelings? Director Spike Jonze released the film Her in 2013, making his screenwriting debut. For the plot he developed a character called Theodore, a lonely and melancholic man who takes refuge in technology so as not to feel alone. Specifically, he buys an operating system (OS) with cognitive abilities that becomes his virtual assistant, a fundamental pillar in his life. We show what can be learned from Artificial Intelligence in the film ‘Her’.
In this movie it raises certain issues related to the ethics of OS, the limits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how humans behave towards technology. But most importantly, although this is a fiction film, there are certain lines that Spike Jonze raised about artificial intelligence that can help us better understand the advancement and future of technology.
1. The voice is the most natural way to relate
We can learn about Artificial Intelligence in the movie ‘Her’. In it, the voice of the OS is vital to understand how the relationship between artificial intelligence and the protagonist evolves. As soon as they buy it, Theodor is offered a choice between a male and a female voice. In the original version, it is Scarlet Johanson who plays the AI character named Samantha, demonstrating an incredible range of nuances.
On the one hand, we see how the protagonist is forging that relationship thanks to the voice. And that intimacy is gradually being worked out thanks to intonations, pauses and shows (feigned) emotions. Through this relationship, we see how little it matters to know if that voice is from a real person or not, since the affective bond is created in the same way. Denouncing, thus, that one of the most natural ways we have to relate, is through the voice. In fact, in the film, being able to have a immediate and personalized response it implies on many occasions that the protagonist is talking to a real person and not with a computer.
It should not be forgotten that this fact has been one of the most debated around AI. The conclusion has been to establish the importance of always granting an artificial and not human identity to know how to differentiate it at all times. For example, in the case of Aura, Telefónica’s AI, from the beginning was defined as something neutral, without gender and with an artificial identity. Something that should not subscribe to either the female or the male, in order to avoid humanizing technology. This manifesto raises all these questions about emotions, tastes and how you deal with sensitive issues.
2. We cannot “compete” with Artificial Intelligence
One of Samantha’s first phrases, when she first speaks to Theodore, is when she tells her what her name is like. At first, the AI doesn’t have one assigned. When the protagonist asks him, the OS is able to read a book about names and choose the one he likes the most sonically to give him an answer. This response does not take more than a few seconds to occur.
This is just one example of how AI can query data at lightning speed, which although the example is exaggerated, teaches us that in the end the speed it has to query, process and reproduce information is immense. This opens up an immense range of possibilities. To give a quick example, do you remember that years ago phones or addresses were only in Yellow Pages? Consulting a number could be a not very slow process, but it would take us a few minutes. Nowadays, entering Google and performing a search, only takes us a few seconds.
3. Artificial Intelligence will become more familiar
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is to see how society accepts technology. From the beginning, and almost without prejudice, they assume that technology can be something more intimate. That you can enter the private bond as a person could. And there the doubt arises: How far could we connect to an operating system?
For example, in the case of Telefónica, the company has focused on the family environment and on giving greater value to the Movistar Home. With Aura and the Movistar Home smart device, everyday tasks can be made lighter with a voice command. Such as listening to the radio, changing the intensity of the lights or developing family games. However, at all times Aura is proposed as the virtual assistant of Movistar, something that will help you carry out the tasks you need such as checking invoices or checking your contracted services. But not like a friend or something familiar.
4. The link between machine and human will be even greater
One of the biggest fears that is emerging around the entry of technology into our lives is that it can somehow replace human contact and social relationships, making us more lonely. Also that being hyper-connected can make us too exposed.
In Her, when we see scenes in which people walk around talking with their operating systems, with headphones and without exchanging a look with anyone, it can cause us a feeling of coldness and fear of change. However, well-used technology it can help us get closer to who we want. It is true that we do not detach from the mobile and that we use it every few minutes. But it is also true that we do so because we hope to have, on the other hand, a human response. A comment from a friend, a like from someone we know on social networks or new content from someone we follow on a social network. In the end, what we seek is contact even though it is made through technology.
5. Devices will tend to be more interconnected
Another of the curiosities that we can see in the film is how different devices are even more connected. The operating system can access the computer, delete and catalog emails, interact with a game from a console and even be aware of what is happening in reality through a camera.
And this can be very overwhelming at first. But so that the variety of devices we have now is sustainable over time, greater connectivity is important. In this scenario, the user must be the one who chooses which one to use depending on their comfort or tastes and not depending on which one provides a service or another.
In short, it is possible to learn about Artificial Intelligence in the film ‘Her’. In fact, we relate more to it in our day to day life than we are aware of through operating systems, chatbots and so on. “However, perhaps the key is to make smarter use of technology and understand what are the best uses and applications for it.
