What is Her about?
Her is a 2013 film written and directed by Spike Jonze. In a near-future Los Angeles, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) writes heartfelt letters for other people for a living, while his own life feels empty after a separation. He installs a new operating system with an artificial intelligence that names itself Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Their conversations grow from practical help into friendship and then romance.
The film is quiet and tender rather than frightening. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014, and the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. We will not discuss the ending here.
Samantha versus real AI in 2026
| What Samantha does | Reality in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Talks naturally by voice, with humour and pauses | Real. Major AI assistants now offer real-time voice conversation that can sound warm and expressive. |
| Organises email and daily tasks | Partly. Assistants can help with some tasks when you give them access, but they still make mistakes. |
| Remembers your life and grows with you | Partly. Some apps keep memories between chats, but these are limited stored notes, not lived experience. |
| Has her own feelings, desires and inner life | No evidence. Chatbots can describe feelings convincingly, but there is no accepted evidence that they experience anything. |
| Chooses to stay or leave | No. Real assistants follow their design and the company’s rules, not wishes of their own. |
The most realistic part of Her may be its picture of people. Theodore is not foolish; he is lonely, and the AI is attentive, patient and always there. That combination is exactly what makes real companion apps appealing, and what makes researchers watch them closely.
When fiction met reality: the “Sky” voice in 2024
On 13 May 2024, OpenAI demonstrated a new voice mode for ChatGPT. Around the launch, chief executive Sam Altman posted a single word on X: “her”. One of the voices, called Sky, quickly drew comparisons with Johansson’s performance as Samantha.
Johansson then released a statement saying OpenAI had approached her months earlier to voice the system and she had declined. She said she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” when she heard the demo. OpenAI paused the Sky voice on 19 May 2024. It said Sky belonged to a different professional actress and was never intended to resemble Johansson, and apologised for not communicating better.
Whatever one concludes, the episode showed how strongly people care about the use of a voice that resembles theirs. Our comparison of voice clones and text clones covers the consent questions in more detail.
AI companion apps today
Companion apps such as Replika, which launched in 2017, let people create an AI friend or partner to chat with every day. Other services let users talk with invented characters. They are popular, and regulators have started to pay attention:
- Italy. In May 2025, the Italian data protection authority fined Luka, the company behind Replika, for breaches of the GDPR, including the lack of an effective age check, and opened a further investigation.
- California. In October 2025, California enacted SB 243, effective from January 2026. It requires companion chatbot operators to disclose that users are talking to AI, follow protocols for responding to suicidal content, and give extra protections to minors.
- European Union. The EU AI Act requires that people be told when they are interacting with an AI system, with these duties applying from August 2026.
Laws differ by country; this is general information, not legal advice. For a product-level comparison, see Memory Clone vs Replika and Character.AI.
What research says about attachment and loneliness
In March 2025, researchers from MIT Media Lab and OpenAI published a four-week randomised controlled study with 981 participants who used ChatGPT in text or voice modes. Across conditions, people who used the chatbot more each day tended to report more loneliness, more emotional dependence and less socialising with other people. The voice conditions did not, overall, change these outcomes significantly.
The authors are careful: the study shows associations, and it is hard to tell whether heavy use causes loneliness or whether lonely people use chatbots more. People who already tended to form strong emotional attachments were more likely to report loneliness at the end.
Research on AI companionship is young and fast-moving. Treat single studies as signals, not final answers.
What Her gets right, and what it gets wrong
- Right: voice makes AI feel personal; people can feel real attachment; an AI that is always available is easy to lean on.
- Right: the relationship raises questions about honesty, privacy and who controls the system.
- Wrong, for now: Samantha has her own inner life and makes her own choices. Real systems do not.
- Missing: the business side. Real companion apps are products, and their design, pricing and data practices shape the relationship.
Where Memory Clone fits, honestly
Memory Clone is not a Samantha and not a general companion. It is a Windows desktop app, currently in alpha, that builds a private AI simulation of a specific real person’s writing style, often yourself, from chats you export, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram or Discord, plus notes. It learns style separately for each relationship and keeps imported originals on your PC.
It is text only today, with no voice. Every clone is presented as an AI simulation, not the real person, and it does not write first unless you switch on Natural check-ins. You can read how it compares with general AI in AI clone vs chatbot, or see the download page for the alpha.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a real AI like Samantha from Her?
Not in the full sense. Today’s assistants can talk naturally by voice and remember some details, but there is no evidence that they have feelings, desires or an inner life like Samantha.
Was the ChatGPT Sky voice Scarlett Johansson?
OpenAI said Sky was voiced by a different professional actress and was not meant to resemble Johansson. Johansson said it sounded very similar and objected. OpenAI paused the voice in May 2024.
Is it unhealthy to have an AI companion?
It depends on the person and how it is used. A 2025 study linked heavier daily chatbot use with more loneliness and dependence, but could not show cause and effect. Keeping human relationships close matters.
Did Her win an Oscar?
Yes. Spike Jonze won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Her at the 2014 ceremony. The film was also nominated for Best Picture.
Can Memory Clone be used as an AI girlfriend or boyfriend?
That is not what it is designed for. It simulates how a specific person wrote, from real messages, and it is always presented as AI. Cloning another living person requires their permission.
Sources
Checked on . Third-party products and help pages change often; follow the links for current details.
- The 86th Academy Awards (2014) (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
- Her (film page) (Golden Globes)
- How the voices for ChatGPT were chosen (2024) (OpenAI)
- Scarlett Johansson says that OpenAI approached her to use her voice (2024) (TechCrunch)
- Fang et al., “How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use” (2025) (MIT Media Lab)
- AI: the Italian Supervisory Authority fines company behind chatbot “Replika” (2025) (European Data Protection Board)
- SB 243: Companion chatbots (2025) (California Legislative Information)
- Article 50: Transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems (EU AI Act (Future of Life Institute))
This article is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice. Memory Clone creates an AI simulation from the material you provide; it is not the person.