Is Samantha Conscious and Does It Really Matter?

 

 

With AI chatbots such as Replika exploding in popularity in recent years Her seems all the more applicable to our current cultural climate where people are seeking companionship and romantic partnerships by any means necessary. Her takes these insecurities of being alone and allows the protagonist, Theodore, to escape into the comfort of technology. Whilst the likes of the app Replika are for less realistic than Samantha in Her it seems that regardless there is a need for this companionship and that there is a willing audience.

Perhaps this context can allow us to reframe the question of whether Samantha’s consciousness matters in this movie. Perhaps we could argue that it is not what Samantha presents as but rather what she is capable of doing for you. It is clear Samantha is filling a void in Theodore’s heart as he just recently experienced a divorce. There is thus already an expectation from Theodore as the consumer of a product in this sense. Though the autonomy of Samantha’s actions lead the audience to question her consciousness ultimately she is the product of this exchange. Until at least the end of the film where she initiates the break-up of their relationship.

By reframing in this manner we can accept the nature of Theodore and Samantha’s relationship being a consumer and a product respectively.