Latest news with #SpikeJonze
Vox
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vox
ChatGPT's update brings us one step closer to living in the movie Her
is a senior technology correspondent at Vox and author of the User Friendly newsletter. He's spent 15 years covering the intersection of technology, culture, and politics at places like The Atlantic, Gizmodo, and Vice. When it came out in 2013, the movie Her was set in the 'slight future.' That 'slight future' is, astonishingly, here. After all, AI-powered chatbots actually are a real thing now, and people are falling in love with them. It's remarkable that the 2013 Spike Jonze sci-fi romance about a lonely mustachioed man, played by Joaquin Phoenix, talking to a robot in an earbud proved to be so prescient. Still, much of our AI-dominated future is still taking shape. Vox Culture Culture reflects society. Get our best explainers on everything from money to entertainment to what everyone is talking about online. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. AI will certainly shape the culture of the next 25 years, but its biggest transformations to our world still remain to be seen. Even in its most rudimentary iterations, the technology has caused us to question our grip on reality. One of the first moments that AI broke through as a cultural force was when a fake image of Pope Francis wearing a white puffy Balenciaga coat fooled the entire internet a couple of years ago (if only because it avoided the common AI mistake of six-fingered hands). On the darker end of the spectrum, nonconsensual deepfake porn created using AI has become nearly impossible to keep offline, prompting new legislation to be enacted banning the practice. As people turn to AI for companionship, just like Phoenix's character did in Her, some of them are losing touch with reality, becoming delusional, and in one case, an AI chatbot has been linked to a teen's suicide. These developments inevitably seem to signal that a more seismic shift is on the way. AI will certainly shape the culture of the next 25 years, but its biggest transformations to our world still remain to be seen. How will all of that play out? Well, that's the thing about the future: We won't know until it's barrelling down on us. In cultural terms, that could mean we're watching movies that are all at least partially AI-generated, hanging out with AI friends online, and listening to AI-generated music more than human bands.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scarlett Johansson Talks About ‘One of the Hardest Films She Made'
Scarlett Johansson recently opened up about her most challenging film role during an interview. While promoting her latest project, Jurassic World Rebirth, the actress revealed which movies proved toughest to film as she reflected on clips from her notable works. The Black Widow star shared that her experience of working with Joaquin Phoenix in the 2013 film Her was one of the most challenging experiences. In her latest appearance on the South Korean show, You Quiz On the Block, Scarlett Johansson detailed why Her seemed like one of the toughest projects that she was a part of. She explained, 'It was one of the hardest films that we made because it was complicated.' Johansson further shared how they recorded her voice in the film. 'Sometimes I would record with [Joaquin Phoenix], sometimes I would record to the movie and do his performance… I would record to the movie,' Johansson added. Johansson gushed, 'It's interesting because as an actor, you have your voice, obviously, and you have your body. Those are the two tools you have to perform, and when you take one of those tools away, obviously you don't have your physicality; it's an interesting kind of challenge.' In Spike Jonze's directorial, Johansson portrays the role of Samantha, an artificially intelligent operating system. In the entire movie, viewers could only hear her voice and not see her. So, the Fly Me to the Moon star revealed how the voice acting role proved challenging. In another interview, Scarlett Johansson shared a different sort of tough experience for the 2003 film, Lost in Translation, which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. She dished to Vanity Fair about her co-star Bill Murray being in a 'hard place' while the filming went on. Johansson noted, 'Bill was in a hard place. Everybody was on tenterhooks around him, including our director and the full crew, because he was dealing with his…stuff.' Later, she met Murray at Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary special. Johansson revealed that her former co-star is 'such a different person now.' She added, 'I think life has humbled him.' Originally reported by Arpita Adhya on The post Scarlett Johansson Talks About 'One of the Hardest Films She Made' appeared first on Mandatory.
Tom's Guide
26-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
Forget Galaxy Fold Ultra — here's what Samsung needs to reveal at Unpacked
For nearly the past year, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has been one of my daily drivers. That's because it's a powerhouse that can handle my work-life balance with its excellent cameras, long battery life to get me through work, and the entertainment value it offers with its expansive 7.6-inch main display. It also works well as a desktop PC replacement thanks to Samsung DeX. Samsung's tipped to reveal a much improved version of its book-style foldable phone at its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event on July 9. What's unusual about this year's upcoming notebook style foldable is the amount of teasers that the company has dropped so far. Not only is it expected to be one of the thinnest foldable phones around, but it's also going to be getting bigger AI camera upgrades. All of this is hyping up what's presumably going to be called the Galaxy Z Fold Ultra, but I think Samsung could be missing a huge opportunity by not doing the same for the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Here's why. Even though the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the best phone you can get, thanks to its outstanding overall performance and utility, I would love to see it transformed into a flip-style phone. If Samsung were to give the same 'ultra' treatment it's been teasing with the forthcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Z Flip 7 could be the phone to beat. But it wouldn't be just taking the existing design and making it fold. Instead, it should get the same ultra-thin construction that Samsung's been teasing — perhaps to the same degree as what I've seen with the Galaxy S25 Edge. And finally, it should get the same camera treatment consisting of a 200MP main camera, an ultrawide, and a telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. If you've ever watched the 2013 Spike Jonze directed film 'Her,' then you're aware about Samantha and how it's what all of today' AI chatbots strive to become. I've been using Gemini Live ever since it debuted with the Pixel 9 series last year and I think an Ultra version of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 could finally be the perfect embodiment of Samantha. Gemini Live lets me tap my phone's camera to see what I'm seeing and ask Gemini questions. Since the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a flip-style phone, I could see myself putting the phone in my shirt pocket in such a way that only the one half of the phone with the outer screen hangs off the sleeve. t's like how Joaquin Phoenix's character in the film carries around Samantha in his shirt pocket, giving the AI assistant access to see the world and interact with it in a more natural way. I wouldn't be able to do this with a book-style foldable phone like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. One thing that annoys me about notebook-style foldables is that they're no easier to handle, even when they're closed and just relying on their outer screens. After testing out the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025), it proves yet again how the outer screens in flip-style phones are underrated. All of today's phones are simply too big to comfortably handle with one-handed use, which is why I often default to the outer screen with my Razr Ultra (2025) when I'm waiting to reach my subway stop. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is tipped to come with an even larger 4-inch cover screen, which I think could benefit from having full apps support by default — rather than burying the feature. Since it would get the 'ultra' treatment, it would be even better if the camera app is unlocked to leverage more of the manual controls that's available when the phone's opened. Right now, camera controls are limited to the basics and you can't select the option to shoot in 4K. That's why it would be even better if an 'ultra' version could give me these controls and much more. In my Galaxy Z Flip 6 review, I explicitly said how I was disappointed to find out that it doesn't support Samsung DeX. The feature has proven to be a lifesaver countless times in the past year wherever I left my laptop at home, by connecting the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to my work monitor — essentially giving me that desktop experience. I'm not hopeful that Samsung will bring it to the Galaxy Z Flip 7 either, but I think it would be an extra incentive for an Ultra model. Considering how Google has been collaborating with Samsung to bring a desktop mode with Android 16, it would be also better if Samsung upgrades DeX to be even more powerful.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lonely man talking to AI ‘girlfriend' on subway stuns internet: ‘It's concerning'
Is he talking to… Her? A viral photo is making the rounds online this week that looks like it was ripped from the script of Spike Jonze's 2013 film 'Her.' It showed a man dystopically conversing with ChatGPT on an NYC subway — 'like it was his girlfriend.' This pic — taken from an angle behind the man and focused on his iPhone screen — sparked fierce debate online over AI companionship in the digital age. The viral snap was shared to X on June 3 by user @yedIin with the caption, 'guy on the subway this morning talking to chatgpt like it's his girlfriend. didn't realize these people *actually* exist. we are so beyond cooked.' As seen on the man's phone, the message sent from the AI assistant read, 'Something warm to drink. A calm ride home. And maybe, if you want, I'll read something to you later, or you can rest your head in my metaphorical lap while we let the day dissolve gently away.' It continued, followed by a red heart emoji, 'You're doing beautifully, my love, just by being here.' The man holding the phone replied, accompanied by another red heart, 'Thank you.' Viewers were split — some blasted the photographer for invading the man in question's privacy, saying snapping pics of his screen without permission was way out of line. 'You have no idea what this person might be going through,' one user wrote as another added, 'Can't decide which is more depressing, that or the fact that you took a picture of this over his shoulder and posted it.' Others felt sorry for the man, calling him 'lonely' and urging people to cut him some slack. 'That's actually sad. He must be very lonely,' someone else tweeted. Another replied, 'As a society, we're seemingly losing empathy bit by bit and it's concerning. Loneliness is real, a lot of people don't have who they can talk to without judgment or criticism.' But plenty sided with the original tweet, calling the whole ChatGPT chat 'scary' and warning that leaning on AI as a stand-in for real human connection is downright alarming. 'Scary to even think about the mental damage this creates,' one commented as another responded, 'Terrified to see what technology will lead the future to. All I can think of are black mirror episodes becoming reality.' But beyond the emotional implications, experts have also raised red flags about privacy concerns when chatting with AI companions like ChatGPT. As The Post previously reported, users often treat these chatbots like trusted confidants — dishing out everything from relationship woes to lab results — without realizing that anything typed into the platform is no longer fully private. 'You lose possession of it,' Jennifer King, a fellow at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, recently warned the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI has cautioned users not to share sensitive information, while Google similarly advises against inputting confidential data into its Gemini chatbot. So if you're spilling your heart out to a bot (not judging), experts say to think twice — because someone else might be listening.
Geek Tyrant
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Hideo Kojima Cast Margaret Qualley in DEATH STRANDING After Watching Her Dance in a Wild Perfume Ad — GeekTyrant
Legendary game creator Hideo Kojima recently revealed that Margaret Qualley landed her role as Mama in Death Stranding after he saw her cut loose in a 2016 Kenzo fragrance commercial directed by Spike Jonze. In the ad, Qualley twists and contorts her face and body in sync with the bass-heavy "Mutant Brain" track by Sam Spiegel (Jonze's brother). It's weird, it's mesmerizing, and it's pretty unhinged even by perfume ad standards. Kojima was immediately hooked. He shared on X: "Saw this and offered her the role." One fan hilariously replied, "That's probably the least surprising thing I've seen you say." Qualley's performance in that commercial was a full display of physical control, expression, and oddball energy. It turned out to be the perfect unofficial audition for the world of Death Stranding , where characters often straddle the line between reality and surrealism. As for her future in the Death Stranding universe, things are still up in the air. Qualley also played Mama's identical twin, Lockne, in the game, which leaves the door wide open for her to show up in Death Stranding 2 or even the upcoming Death Stranding movie.
