Ep. 36 Unfixed at the Movies: Her

Ep. 36 Unfixed at the Movies: Her
Nik Janos and Zach Justus

Movie Night returns to Unfixed with Spike Jonze’s Her (2013), one of the most influential films made about artificial intelligence. We explore why so many AI leaders have pointed to Her as a vision of the future, what the film got surprisingly right, and how its questions about loneliness, intimacy, and human connection feel even more relevant in the age of large language models. Along the way, we connect the film to today’s AI companions, the Scarlett Johansson/OpenAI controversy, and what all of this might mean for higher education.

Sam Altman on Her

NPR, Scarlett Johansson says she is 'shocked, angered' over new ChatGPT voice

NPR, 1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship or knows someone who has

Louis Fréget, Ariell Reshef, Claudia Senik. Do Personal AI Conversations Reduce Loneliness? Evidence from a Pre-Registered Experiment. 2026. 

Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org

You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org

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Nik Janos

Professor of Sociology at California State University, Chico.

https://nikjanos.org
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Ep. 35 Unfixed at the Movies: WarGames and Terminator 2