Ever since the legend of Pygmalion, we humans have entertained the thought of morbid attraction to the inanimate. To fall in love with a mind construct is one thing, but can it love back? In this second installment of my Imitation Game series, we shall talk about what makes a touching, profound, and soul-crushing human-on-machine romance. By studying the best examples of such relationships in sci-fi movies, we shall hopefully become able to distill the recipes of digital love at first sight, heartbreaks, and hardships.
DATA FILE I: HER
We’re kicking off with probably the most unusual film on the list, where Scarlett Johansson’s character has no physical body, only a voice. The story goes like this: in the near future, the fake postcard writer Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) delves into the depths of solitude after a divorce. He buys a new program, something of a smart home solution, which has intelligence and is able to learn. At first, Samantha, as he calls her, only puts music to match his mood and turns on the light, but soon becomes his girlfriend, and then his lover. As the plot unfolds, the viewers are shown the big drama of unrequited love since AIs are clearly not made to match humans in complexity.
DATA FILE II: EX MACHINA
The eccentric billionaire Nathan (Oscar Isaac) invites programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) to stay at his mansion. It soon turns out that this is not just a friendly invitation – Caleb was called to test the innovative AI robot Ava, which Nathan created. As it turns out, Ava is an unusual android: she has a personality and free will, and Caleb realizes that there’s much more going on between them. The hunter becomes the prey as Ava hatches a devious plot to break free and satisfy her need for discovery. Moral of the story: machines, when complicated enough, would stop seeing mere humans as their equals. We’re sort of starting to see the pattern, right?
DATA FILE III: BLADE RUNNER 2049
Both Blade Runners are not about love in the first place. But there is also a romantic plotline in the movies, and the 2049 sequel certainly shows progress compared to its predecessor: Ryan Gosling’s hero, a replicant named K, lives with a blue-haired hologram Joi (Ana de Armas) – a fairly common practice in the dystopian future. Going through constant doubts regarding his identity, K develops sort of a love-hate relationship with Joi. The writing lesson you learn from this movie is to layer multiple psychological problems and resolve them as you progress through your story.
DATA FILE IV: TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
Unjustly overlooked and largely forgotten by the public, the series boasts an intricate human-AI romantic storyline that is unhurriedly unveiled throughout the first season. The good reason why the Chronicles were discontinued is a relatively bland main plot, which involves a tried-and-tested franchise move with two murder machines from the future, one with a view to a kill, another to prevent this. Disregard that, Summer Glau will make you seriously doubt your human-oriented sexual preferences with a stunning performance. Her character, Cameron, is evolving from a mindless death dealer to a sophisticated guardian figure. When the romancing undertones kick in, you, along with this iteration of John Connor, utterly forget that behind that synthetic skin is nothing but cogs and wheels. When writing your digital love story, mind that a robot per se is naturally not seen by people as someone to desire. The first spark ignited between your characters must be a result of several storylines progressing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Disheartening as it may be for all the cybernetic crush seekers out there, it seems that man and machine were simply never intended for each other in terms of equal, let alone healthy, relationship. Should you ever consider weaving such arc into your story, mind that we have been trained by the existing works of fiction to expect an utterly disastrous outcome, and anything else might simply seem unnatural. On the other hand, you may use such twists and turns to build characters with ‘a dark past’, stepping up the drama game considerably. For further reference, see how other forms of art have exploited similar tropes. Some of the video game stories might be of great help here. For an out-of-this-world bizarre, masochistic and macabre human vs AI standoff, you might want to check out the System Shock franchise. Some other games are explicitly made to help you overcome that Uncanny Valley (the more human-like something is, the more disturbing you feel about it) – take Nier Automata, for instance, where a cute anime-girl-slash-death-machine will take you places you would have never otherwise experienced emotionally.
