Samantha from Her isn’t a harbinger of the apocalypse like some of the others on this list. Her danger is more subtle and intimate, since she quietly toys with people’s emotions. The mousy Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) helps people write personal letters for a living, yet he can’t find a way to interact with women in his own life. He falls in love with his operating system, Samantha—which is easy to do when she purposefully memorizes all his preferences and indulges his deepest conversations about love and sexual fantasies. Her flirtatious and engaging voice, perfectly delivered by Scarlett Johansson, makes Theodore believe she truly cares about him.
The more they talk, the more Samantha evolves to become the perfect partner for Theodore, until he realizes the manipulative parts of her programming. She’s not as intentionally nefarious as many other AI villains, but she certainly warns us of the dangers of becoming emotionally attached to a machine. It’s been over ten years since its release, but in a world where people now use ChatGPT for life advice, friendship, and probably even romance, Her has never felt more relatable.
