On occasion I was acutely aware I was watching two of Hollywoods finest flirting with each other - one present on screen, the other a disembodied voice. Tellingly Theodores ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) is horrified by his confession he has fallen in love with his operating system, saying it made sense given that he couldnt cope with the demands of a relationship with a human with needs.

But on the whole its an utterly absorbing love story which deconstructs the complexities of falling in love through the frame of technological innovation. Such is Samanthas artificial intelligence, she longs to possess a physical body so she can walk around with Theodore and see the world as he does. I found myself able to suspend my disbelief he had developed feelings for a programme, given the tender nature of the pairs interactions.]

I asked data scientist Sean Owen, founder of machine learning company Myrrix, whether feeling compassion and even love for computer programmes wont seem quite so weird in the future.

Her is set in the near future; around 2050 or so. To some extent, our relationship with technology already matches that depicted in the film; for example, when you look around a subway carriage its not at all unusual to see the majority of passengers utterly engrossed in their phones. We already have that level of disconnect. But in terms of having a romantic relationship with our technology, were still quite some way off.

Owen explains the evolution of artificial intelligence is an extremely complex journey which began in the tail end of the 1950s. By the 1970s, programmes could be created that could answer series of factual questions, but they were extremely limited. Now the algorithms are much more sophisticated, and its much easier to feel youre having an actual conversation with a programme such as the iPhones Siri as opposed to it firing answers back at you.

The main barrier to developing an emotional attachment to our gadgets, he says, is that were still not entirely trusting of machines. Its more about whether people want that level of connection with their technology, which is tied into the concept of the Internet of Things. Our lives may become increasingly connected, but Id say people still find the concept of their fridge ordering food for them a little creepy. Machines can help us to understand more about ourselves as dumb humans, and gain greater insight into why we behave the way we do. But I did find parts of the film quite disconcerting.

Jackie Fenn, vice president and Gartner Fellow, says that many of Samanthas capabilities, including speech, natural language recognition, and some conversational abilities already exist in current technology. Once the computer can get smarter from new information, theres nothing to stop it becoming as good as, and eventually better than, a person doing the same task, she says. So whats to stop an OS from becoming a better companion than most humans? The more it interacts with you, the more it learns about what pleases you and what doesnt, until it knows you better than you know yourself.

One of Samanthas most appealing aspects is her sense of humour (far from hampered by Johanssons husky laugh). Expression of humour and creativity are the most challenging areas for artificial intelligence development, says Fenn, but thats not to say its impossible.

Theodore feels more deeply for Samantha than any human woman he has ever loved

If a computer can learn what makes people laugh and more importantly what makes you laugh based on watching and analysing over time, there is no theoretical reason that a computer couldnt eventually display and respond to humour. Similarly with music or art by experimenting, analysing and learning, it could figure out which compositions create the best emotional resonance in the human brain.

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Her: Could you ever fall in love with a computer?