I recently revisited Her (2013) and watched Companion (2024), and it struck me how these two films chart the evolution of our expectations, and fears about artificial intelligence and robotics.
Her envisioned a world where AI systems, without any physical form, develop emotional depth and become legitimate romantic partners. A decade later, we're basically there: between 2023 and 2025, we've seen the rise of emotionally aware AI, voice companions, and conversational models like ChatGPT, Replika, and others.
Then comes Companion, showing the next leap: humanoid robots with realistic bodies, social intuition, and the ability to form deep emotional connections. That world still feels like science fiction — but for how long? Experts forecast physical AI companions could emerge sometime between 2040 and 2070, depending on advances in robotics, synthetic skin, facial expression systems, and ethical/legal frameworks.
Are we heading toward a future where loneliness is “solved” by technology? Or are we opening a door we might not be ready to walk through?
Have you seen these films? Do you think we’ll hit Companion-level tech in our lifetimes?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1k3f8q4/will_we_have_robots_like_the_ones_in_the_movie/