In Spike Jonze’s 2013 film, Her, Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with the AI chatbot inside his phone. He’s schtupping Siri, if you will. The situation is meant to be very futuristic, with Phoenix’s character Theodore working a non-existent job and traversing a city that looks like a Shanghai-Los Angeles hybrid. He even uses a teeny-tiny pocketbook device as an all-in-one phone, games console, and cloud-based voice service.
I don’t think, however, that Spike Jonze realised just how near that future would be. Just twelve years on from Her’s release, and AI and dating have become natural bedfellows. They’re tucked in, comfortable, and leaving crumbs in the sheets.
