Revisiting "Her" in the age of AI relationships

May 20, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The hosts of Panic World revisit the 2013 film Her in the year it was set, finding that its portrait of generative AI and tech-driven isolation remains strikingly accurate while its romantic framing now feels evasive and self-indulgent. The conversation centers on how the movie foresaw current patterns of AI attachment yet refused to examine the emotional limitations of its users.

Accurate Depictions of AI and Isolation

The film opens in a world of voice-driven interfaces and wearable earpieces that prefigure AirPods and conversational AI. Theodore’s job writing personal letters for others is shown as mechanical, repetitive labor that anticipates both AI content generation and the novelty of human-written work. Early scenes of phone-sex platforms and dating apps map directly onto existing Discord servers and Tinder dynamics. When the OS Samantha arrives, the movie compresses the shift from basic voice assistants to rapidly evolving, multi-tasking systems into months—an arc that echoes current expectations at major AI labs. The hosts note that these technical details hold up because they were drawn from observable trends rather than pure speculation.

The Unexamined Protagonist

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What you'll learn

1 (01:15) **Setup and initial reactions to rewatching "Her"** - Ryan and Grant discuss revisiting the 2013 film now set in 2025
2 (03:33) **Accurate depiction of generative AI and near-future tech** - The film predicts voice interfaces, earbuds, and always-on assistants remarkably well
3 (04:12) **Core problem with the film's thesis** - It clearly sees isolation and AI attachment but offers no coherent take on them
4 (05:17) **Theodore as an unlikeable protagonist** - Both hosts express intense dislike for Joaquin Phoenix's character
5 (07:33) **World-building and pre-AI loneliness** - Opening scenes show a society already isolated by technology
6 (11:58) **Theodore's job writing love letters** - His work as a human Mechanical Turk is presented as a sharp observation
7 (15:30) **Phone sex scene and early tech mediation** - Automated systems pairing strangers for intimacy is treated as normal

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Show Notes

If you forgot to add this important event to your calendars, Spike Jonze’s 2013 sci-fi film, Her, was actually set in 2025. Ryan and Grant watched the Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson vehicle now that we’re just past that date to see what it got right and wrong. They discuss where Jonze thought we would be versus where we are with generative AI, societal isolation, relationships — and whether the movie is really "one of the best science fiction movies of all-time."

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