Humanising AI and Evaporating Humanity: post-humanism in Her (2013) and Chappie (2015)

This article studies Artificial Intelligence (AI) and humanity in Her (2013) and Chappie (2015). AI has been on the horizon of humanity in the last few decades. However, with the emergence of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots that can create content, the entire world has become fanatic about the technology while at the same time questioning its threat to humans. The future of AI remains unknown, but there are movies that have explored its power and threat specifically in building relationships with humans. This article is particularly interested in Her (2013) and Chappie (2015) that interrogate the definition of machines and humanity when AI has been completely merged into society. The plot of Her revolves around a middle-aged man who leads an alienated life and falls in love with his AI companion. Chappie portrays a flawed robot who identifies a couple as his parents. Focusing on these two movies and theories on post-humanism, this article argues that intersectional and dialectal relationships between humans and machines must be considered to envision a future with AI. Rather than looking at technology and humans as separate entities, we must look at their intersections to arrive at the (new) definitions of machines and humanity.