In Spike Jonze’s “Her,” we explore a distant future where people are able to purchase companion operating systems with artificial intelligence that has the capability to not only learn, but love through its learning, and in some ways become more “human” as it evolves. There are scenes throughout that mimic current real life, as it’s all too common to see everyone face-down, staring at their smartphones. But one Japanese company, Gatebox, recently introduced a product that’ll make “Her” that much more of a reality.
Introducing the world’s first Home Virtual Robot: You’ll connect with a hologram-based character, where it’ll become part of your everyday life, integrating with you at home or on the go via a mobile app. You can communicate with it as you would any real person (like texting), and it’ll do certain things for you, such as turning lights on and adjusting climate control before you get home.
Though the demo video makes it look as if this is more a virtual partner, the Gatebox website says you can customize it with any special character of your choosing. It could eradicate traditional dating norms for those who find dating a pain in the ass anyway, or bring you one step closer toward the future Spike Jonze has already envisioned, which could be a good or bad thing.
