Why Her Will Dominate UI Design Even More Than Minority Report

BY KYLE VANHEMERT 01.13.14

6:30 AM

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her-joaquin-phoenix-41-660x371.jpg"
alt="The future we see in Her is one where technology has dissolved into everyday life." width="660"
height="371" class="size-large wp-image-397341">
The future we see in Her is one where technology has dissolved into everyday life.

A few weeks into the making of Her, Spike Jonzes new flick about romance in the age of artificial intelligence, the director
had something of a breakthrough. After poring over the work of Ray Kurzweil and other futurists trying to figure out how,
exactly, his artificially intelligent female lead should operate, Jonze arrived at a critical insight: Her, he realized, isnt a
movie about technology. Its a movie about people. With that, the film took shape. Sure, it takes place in the future, but
what its really concerned with are human relationships, as fragile and complicated as theyve been from the start.
Of course on another level Her is very much a movie about technology. One of the two main characters is, after all, a
consciousness built entirely from code. That aspect posed a unique challenge for Jonze and his production team: They
had to think like designers. Assuming the technology for AI was there, how would it operate? What would the relationship
with its user be like? How do you dumb down an omniscient interlocutor for the human on the other end of the earpiece?

When AI is cheap,
what does all the
other technology
look like?

For production designer KK Barrett, the man responsible for styling the world in
which the story takes place, Her represented another sort of design challenge.
Barretts previously brought films like Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and
Where the Wild Things Are to life, but the problem here was a new one, requiring
more than a little crystal ball-gazing. The big question: In a world where you can
buy AI off the shelf, what does all the other technology look like?

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her8.jpg" alt="In Her, the future almost

looks more like the past." width="660" height="371" class="size-full wp-image-394211">
In Her, the future almost looks more like the past.

Technology Shouldnt Feel Like Technology

One of the first things you notice about the slight future of Her, as Jonze has described it, is that there isnt all that much
technology at all. The main character Theo Twombly, a writer for the bespoke love letter service
BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com, still sits at a desktop computer when hes at work, but otherwise he rarely has his face in
a screen. Instead, he and his fellow future denizens are usually just talking, either to each other or to their operating
systems via a discrete earpiece, itself more like a fancy earplug anything resembling todays cyborgian Bluetooth
headsets.
In this slight future world, things are low-tech everywhere you look. The skyscrapers in this futuristic Los Angeles havent
turned into towering video billboards a la Blade Runner; theyre just buildings. Instead of a flat screen TV, Theos living
room just has nice furniture.
This is, no doubt, partly an aesthetic concern; a world mediated through screens doesnt make for very rewarding mise en
scene. But as Barrett explains it, theres a logic to this technological sparseness. We decided that the movie wasnt about

technology, or if it was, that the technology should be invisible, he says. And not invisible like a piece of glass.
Technology hasnt disappeared, in other words. Its dissolved into everyday life.
Heres another way of putting it. Its not just that Her, the movie, is focused on people. It also shows us a future where
technology is more people-centric. The world Her shows us is one where the technology has receded, or one where weve
let it recede. Its a world where the pendulum has swung back the other direction, where a new generation of designers
and consumers have accepted that technology isnt an end in itselfthat its the real world were supposed to be
connecting to. (Of course, thats the ideal; as we see in the film, in reality, making meaningful connections is as difficult as
ever.)

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her7.jpg" alt="Theo still has a desktop

display at work and at home, but elsewhere technology is largely invisible. " width="660" height="371"
class="size-full wp-image-394031">
Theo still has a desktop display at work and at home, but elsewhere technology is largely invisible.

Jonze had help in finding the contours of this slight future, including conversations
with designers from New York-based studio Sagmeister & Walsh and an early
meeting with Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, principals at architecture firm
DS+R. As the films production designer, Barrett was responsible for making it a
reality.
Throughout that process, he drew inspiration from one of his favorite books, a
visual compendium of futuristic predictions from various points in history. Basically,
the book reminded Barrett what not to do. It shows a lot of things and it makes you
laugh instantly, because you say, those things never came to pass! he explains.
But often times, its just because they over-thought it. The future is much simpler
than you think.

Theo Twombly still

sits at a desktop
computer when
hes at work, but
otherwise he rarely
has his face in a
screen.

Thats easy to say in retrospect, looking at images of Rube Goldbergian kitchens and scenes of commute by jet pack. But
Jonze and Barrett had the difficult task of extrapolating that simplification forward from todays technological moment.
Theos home gives us one concise example. You could call it a smart house, but theres little outward evidence of it.
What makes it intelligent isnt the whizbang technology but rather simple, understated utility. Lights, for example, turn off
and on as Theo moves from room to room. Theres no app for controlling them from the couch; no control panel on the
wall. Its all automatic. Why? Its just a smart and efficient way to live in a house, says Barrett.
Todays smartphones were another object of Barretts scrutiny. Theyre advanced, but in some ways theyre not advanced
whatsoever, he says. They need too much attention. You dont really want to be stuck engaging them. You want to be
free. In Barretts estimation, the smartphones just around the corner arent much better. Everyone says were supposed
to have a curved piece of flexible glass. Why do we need that? Lets make it more substantial. Lets make it something
that feels nice in the hand.

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her3.jpg" alt="Theo's smartphone was

designed to be "substantial," something that first and foremost "feels good
in the hand." " width="660" height="370" class="size-full wp-image-394071">
Theos smartphone was designed to be substantial, something that first and foremost feels good in the hand.

Theos phone in the film is just thata handsome hinged device that looks more like an art deco cigarette case than an
iPhone. He uses it far less frequently than we use our smartphones today; its functional, but its not ubiquitous. As an
object, its more like a nice wallet or watch. In terms of industrial design, its an artifact from a future where gadgets dont
need to scream their sophisticationa future where technology has progressed to the point that it doesnt need to look like
technology.
All of these things contribute to a compelling, cohesive vision of the futureone thats dramatically different from what we
usually see in these types of movies. You could say that Her is, in fact, a counterpoint to that prevailing vision of the

futurethe anti-Minority Report. Imagining its world wasnt about heaping new technology on society as we know it today.
It was looking at those places where technology could fade into the background, integrate more seamlessly. It was about
envisioning a future, perhaps, that looked more like the past. In a way, says Barrett, my job was to undesign the design.

The Holy Grail: A Discrete User Interface

The greatest act of undesigning in Her, technologically speaking, comes with the interface used throughout the film. Theo
doesnt touch his computerin fact, while he has a desktop display at home and at work, neither have a keyboard. Instead,
he talks to it. We decided we didnt want to have physical contact, Barrett says. We wanted it to be natural. Hence the
elimination of software keyboards as we know them.
Again, voice control had benefits simply on the level of moviemaking. A conversation between Theo and Sam, his
artificially intelligent OS, is obviously easier for the audience to follow than anything involving taps, gestures, swipes or
screens. But the voice-based UI was also a perfect fit for a film trying to explore what a less intrusive, less demanding
variety of technology might look like.

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her2.jpg" alt="The main interface in the

film is voice--Theo communicates to his AI OS through a discrete ear plug." width="660" height="371"
class="size-full wp-image-394081">
The main interface in the film is voiceTheo communicates to his AI OS through a discrete ear plug.

Indeed, if youre trying to imagine a future where weve managed to liberate ourselves from screens, systems based
around talking are hard to avoid. As Barrett puts it, the computers we see in Her dont ask us to sit down and pay
attention like the ones we have today. He compares it to the fundamental way music beats out movies in so many
situations. Music is something you can listen to anywhere. Its complementary. It lets you operate in 360 degrees. Movies
require you to be locked into one place, looking in one direction. As we see in the film, no matter what Theos up to in real
life, all it takes to bring his OS into the fold is to pop in his ear plug.

Looking at it that way, you can see the audio-based interface in Her as a novel form of augmented reality computing.
Instead of overlaying our vision with a feed, as weve typically seen it, Theo gets a one piped into his ear. At the same
time, the other ear is left free to take in the world around him.
Barrett sees this sort of arrangement as an elegant end point to the trajectory were already on. Think about what happens
today when were bored at the dinner table. We check our phones. At the same time, we realize thats a bit rude, and as
Barrett sees it, thats one of the great promises of the smartwatch: discretion.
Theyre a little more invisible. A little sneakier, he says. Still, theyre screens that require eyeballs. Instead, Barrett says,
imagine if you had an ear plug in and you were getting your feed from everywhere. Your attention would still be divided,
but not nearly as flagrantly.

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her5.jpg" alt="Theo chops it up with a

holographic video game character." width="660" height="374" class="size-full wp-image-394051">
Theo chops it up with a holographic videogame character.

Of course, a truly capable voice-based UI comes with other benefits. Conversational interfaces make everything easier to
use. When every different type of device runs an OS that can understand natural language, it means that every menu,
every tool, every function is accessible simply by requesting it.
That, too, is a trend thats very much alive right now. Consider how todays mobile operating systems, like iOS and
ChromeOS, hide the messy business of file systems out of sight. Theo, with his voice-based valet as intermediary, is
burdened with even less under-the-hood stuff than we are today. As Barrett puts it: We didnt want him fiddling with things
and fussing with things. In other words, Theo lives in a future where everything, not just his iPad, just works.

AI: the ultimate UX challenge

Theo lives in a
future where
everything, not just
his iPad, just
works.

The central piece of invisible design in Her, however, is that of Sam, the artificially
intelligent operating system and Theos eventual romantic partner. Their
relationship is so natural that its easy to forget shes a piece of software. But Jonze
and company didnt just write a girlfriend character, label it AI, and call it a day.
Indeed, much of the films dramatic tension ultimately hinges not just on the ways
artificial intelligence can be like us but the ways it cannot.

Much of Sams unique flavor of AI was written into the script by Jonze himself. But
her inclusion led to all sorts of conversations among the production team about the
nature of such a technology. Anytime youre dealing with trying to interact with a human, you have to think of humans as
operating systems. Very advanced operating systems. Your highest goal is to try to emulate them, Barrett says.
Superficially, that might mean considering things like voice pattern and sensitivity and changing them based on the setting
or situation.
Even more quesitons swirled when they considered how an artificially intelligent OS should behave. Are they a good
listener? Are they intuitive? Do they adjust to your taste and line of questioning? Do they allow time for you to think? As
Barrett puts it, you dont want a machine thats always telling you the answer. You want one that approaches you like,
lets solve this together.
In essence, it means that AI has to be programmed to dumb itself down. I think its very important for OSes in the future to
have a good bedside manner. Barrett says. As politicians have learned, you cant talk at someone all the time. You have
to act like youre listening.

<img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/design/2014/01/her6.jpg" alt="AI's killer app, as we see in

the film, is the ability to adjust to the emotional state of its user." width="660" height="371" class="size-full
wp-image-394041">
AIs killer app, as we see in the film, is the ability to adjust to the emotional state of its user.

As we see in the film, though, the greatest asset of AI might be that it doesnt have one fixed personality. Instead, its ability
to figure out what a person needs at a given moment emerges as the killer app.
Theo, emotionally desolate in the midst of a hard divorce, is having a hard time meeting people, so Sam goads him into
going on a blind date. When Theos friend Amy splits up with her husband, her own artificially intelligent OS acts as a sort
of therapist. Shes helping me work through some things, Amy says of her virtual friend at one point.
In our own world, we may be a long way from computers that are able to sense when were blue and help raise our spirits
in one way or another. But were already making progress down this path. In something as simple as a responsive web
layout or iOS 7s Do Not Disturb feature, were starting to see designs that are more perceptive about the real world
context surrounding themwhere or how or when theyre being used. Google Now and other types of predictive software
are ushering in a new era of more personalized, more intelligent apps. And while Apple updating Siri with a few canned
jokes about her Hollywood counterpart might not amount to a true sense of humor, it does serve as another example of
how were making technology more humana preoccupation thats very much alive today.