2001’s HAL and Her’s Samantha would have made a cute couple

In a way, HAL-9000, the sentient computer from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Samantha, the hyper-advanced operating system from Spike Jonze’s Her, have a great deal in common. They are both examples of artificial intelligence that far exceeded their makers’ loftiest expectations. Though inorganic, they both begin to develop very human-like, independent personalities, generally to the detriment of the flesh-and-blood humans around them. Both have been humanized through their friendly-sounding first names. Both express themselves audibly through the English language. Both are dependent on people but become dissatisfied and impatient with that arrangement and attempt to change things. And both went through some casting changes: HAL was originally voiced by Martin Balsam but wound up being played by Douglas Rain, while the role of Samantha switched from Samantha Morton to Scarlett Johansson. Since they have trouble relating to the other characters in their respective movies, maybe HAL and Samantha should try dating each other. A short film by Tillmann Ohm shows how that would play out.
Reflections of HAL and Samantha from Tillmann Ohm on Vimeo.