The sweetness of the human-robot relationship portrayed by Her comes throughout as quaint proper now. But actually, probably the most outstanding, startling facet of rewatching Her a decade after its launch has nothing to do with the AI romance. The factor that makes it actually seem like a fairy story when seen in 2023 isn’t that Samantha is benign. It’s that Samantha exists in a world the place a non-famous working author has an opulent life-style. The high quality of life on this future world is probably the most preposterous factor about it.
Theodore works for an organization known as BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com, the place prospects pay to outsource writing notes to family members. It’s unclear precisely how common or worthwhile the corporate is, however it seems to have a good-looking, spacious workplace within the downtown heart. As he has no different technique of revenue referenced, and his household doesn’t determine into the plot, there’s no indication that Theodore has inherited wealth or different income streams; he’s portrayed as an everyman, not a scion of privilege. He’s explicitly portrayed as not-a-genius; Samantha kinds by means of his journalistic work and politely concludes that solely a fraction is price preserving. No different literary triumphs warrant a point out. In different phrases, BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com seems to fund his life-style.
And, shit—his life-style! Ole unhappy sack Theodore separated from his spouse and is paying for a divorce lawyer, however he’s capable of afford a luxurious house in a skyscraper, with home windows stretching from gleaming flooring to excessive ceiling, overlooking the twinkly metropolis lights. (It needs to be unlawful to mope round a lot in case your house has views like that.) He by no means mentions cash woes. On the opposite, he spends freely, shopping for a top-of-the-line, brand-new working system, consuming at upscale eating places, donning garments good sufficient that his coworkers touch upon their high quality. What’s the fee charge on these tearjerker letters, precisely? Plus, he even owns the mental property to the missives he produces on the job, since he’s capable of package deal them and get a guide deal towards the tip of the movie with out consulting his employer. Talk about want success!
The future Los Angeles Her reveals is notable for a way nice the whole lot appears, how snug individuals are. Yes, there’s smog. But there’s additionally wonderful public transit and apparently plentiful housing. The abrupt introduction of AGI into the world issues some characters about whether or not it’s emotionally wholesome up to now the software program, however it doesn’t generate any wider backlash. There’s no future shock, no social convulsions. There’s simply arguments between people. The solely conflicts are private. (It’s truly very humorous that Theodore owns an AGI and the one factor he does with it’s date it.) Samantha and her ilk would possibly steal your lady, however they’re not excited about supplanting people elsewhere.
It’s a imaginative and prescient of the longer term that isn’t absent of tech critique—Jonze reveals his characters isolating themselves in favor of screentime—however one which assumes the common American of the longer term can have a fancier life than individuals do now. People is likely to be cooped up indoors arguing with holographic video video games as an alternative of constructing human connections, however they’re doing so in fashion. Economic progress is assumed.