8 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies About Romantic Relationships With AI Companions

Among the greatest AI-centric sci-fi movies of all time, such technology has been examined thoughtfully. Films like The Matrix and The Terminator have depicted worlds where technology has taken over, while Westworld and I, Robot have looked at the frightening complexities of living side by side with thinking machines. These dangers have been given focus for good reason.

The impact of technology on the world is enormous, and its implications are often terrifying. Even Dune's story follows that universe's Butlerian Jihad, taking place thousands of years after a war where artificial intelligence rose up to destroy humanity. These ideas are important, but other, more personal questions must also be asked about artificial intelligence.

Tied up with these is the human need for romance and connection. When applied in relationships between humans and AI, this theme can be incredibly impactful. As the world continues to explore bonds forged between humans and chatbots, the implications of these relationships can be given greater examination in the stories we tell. These eight are the most interesting versions.

Companion

Last year's Companion was a huge streaming hit, and for good reason. The sci-fi thriller is wildly entertaining, beginning with a friend group's weekend getaway in the woods that quickly unravels, turning shocking and bloody in some surprising turns.

The film's first of many twists, featured in the marketing, reveals that Iris, Companion's apparent protagonist, is actually an artificially intelligent robot. Her relationship with Josh continues to be recontextualized as the story continues, unfolding primarily through her eyes.

While many movies assign a villainous intent to AI, and while its violent capacity is certainly shown in this excellent film, the movie instead highlights the villainy of its human characters. In this, it takes a wholly different, and surprisingly satisfying approach to the genre.

Bicentennial Man

An excellent sci-fi movie from the 1990s, the Robin Williams-starring Bicentennial Man takes a thoughtful look at human connection. It tells the story of Andrew, a robot butler who experiences a score of deeply human feelings over a lifespan of 200 years.

One of the film's strangest turns concerns a romance that blossoms between Andrew and Portia, a human woman, and the granddaughter of his initial owners. This leads to some curious ruminations on personhood as Andrew attempts to change the law to allow him to marry her.

A thoughtful and compelling science fiction tale, some of Bicentennial Man feels a little more unsettling today. However, the film was an excellent visual and creative achievement, and was nominated for Best Makeup at the Academy Awards.

S1M0NE

Long before the AI "actor" Tilly Norwood became a topic of discussion, Andrew Niccol's film Simone, stylized as S1M0NE, questioned how such an invention might actually be used. Al Pacino stars as Viktor Taransky, a movie director in need of a lead actor, whom he manufactures with software.

Simone, a shortening of Simulation One, becomes a worldwide sensation. However, this surprising turn drives Taransky to extreme ends, crafting publicity stunts to make audiences believe she is a real person. This includes a fake relationship being manufactured between the two.

Simone is not real, and the bond that she and Taransky share in the film is fake. However, his understanding of it throughout the story gives an unusual look at the balance in a relationship between a human being and a computer. All of this helps make the film an essential watch today.

Tron: Legacy

Tron: Legacy changed movies with its de-aging technology, and the film is best remembered for its stunning visuals of the Grid and its powerful Daft Punk score. However, beneath all of that is a surprisingly human story of connection that occurs between Sam Flynn and Quorra, a program.

There are subtle moments of romance throughout the film, which show the two being drawn together. Glances throughout lead to the fim's beautiful ending, where Sam takes Quorra outside the Grid, allowing her to see her first sunrise.

While not overt, there is clearly deep chemistry on display between the characters. Tron: Ares has since also suggested that the two remain together, building a life somewhere in the real world.

I’m Your Man

I'm Your Man is a powerful and emotional look at using artificial intelligence to simulate an idealized connection. In the film, Alma Felser is brought in as part of a study and presented with a robot that has been programmed to match her desires and preferences perfectly.

The movie examines loneliness and loss, but also the difficulties in having them soothed by a machine. While Tom, the robot, reaches surprisingly human places with his efforts, that disconnect remains a thoughtful point of concern.

Thoughtful, with deep meditations on pain and humanity, the film is an impactful look at both the boons and the difficulties of AI relationships.

The Stepford Wives (1975)

The Stepford Wives is a darkly satirical film that has only grown more impactful with time. A campy and yet haunting tale, the film sees the Eberhart family moving to the idyllic Stepford community, where nothing is quite as it seems.

The film follows the fiercely independent Joanna, who eventually learns that all the wives in the community have been replaced by subservient androids. The neighborhood's push to rob women of their agency is a shocking turn in the story, and left audiences deeply unsettled.

In addition, this concept reframes much of what is understood about relationships with AI companions in these films. Computers and robots generally lack agency, and that incapacity for consent makes an unsettling comment about such relationships.

Her

Arguably the most obvious example on this list, Spike Jonze's Her is a fantastic tale about a man who struggles to find connection. As a result, Theodore Twombly finds himself drawn to his intelligent computer operating system, who takes on the name Samantha.

The two seem to forge a bond, but the movie gets to its most interesting point in where that culminates. There are limits to their connection, which thereby does not have a direct physical outlet. More than this, the bond between them is eventually outgrown by Samantha.

The capacity that artificial intelligence has is almost limitless. Even if it were able to have agency and used that to connect with a human being, it would inevitably grow beyond that. Her presents this idea with thoughtful contemplation and some surprisingly powerful emotion.

Ex Machina

Ex Machina is one of the smartest and most unsettling looks at artificial intelligence and its apparent capacity to connect on a human level. Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, the film's unexpected ending leaves audiences shaken, making the sci-fi movie even better on a rewatch.

Rather than simply presenting a relationship between Caleb and Ava, the film instead questions it. It takes a deep look at how computers function, highlighting their fundamental differences from humans. It is the fact that Ava seems to be able to feel so capably, despite her real intentions, that makes the film so disturbingly effective.

There is much to examine in AI companions, and there is also much to be afraid of. Humans and computers are fundamentally different, a fact that is highlighted so well in both Ex Machina and Blumhouse's new film, Soulm8te.