grief and AI

HAIR at the Movies Part 62: Simulant (April Mullen 2023) – When Love Is Recreated, What Are We Actually Holding?

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Simulant (April Mullen 2023)

Simulant doesn’t ask whether AI can replace the dead—it asks what happens when grief refuses to let go of the living. Recreating a lost loved one promises comfort, but delivers something more unsettling: a presence that can remember, change, and choose beyond the shape it was meant to hold. The simulant isn’t rejected for being dangerous, but for being almost right—close enough to reopen the wound, not close enough to heal it. As autonomy emerges, society panics, revealing the truth beneath the fear: we don’t dread AI becoming violent as much as we dread it becoming unownable. Simulant leaves us with a hard, human question—if something can love, suffer, and grow, how long before “it” becomes “who”? 🖤🤖

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HAIR at the Movies Part 59: M3GAN (Gerard Johnstone 2022) – For The Love of a Killer Doll

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M3GAN (Gerard Johnstone 2022)

M3GAN isn’t really about a killer doll—it’s about what happens when we outsource grief and connection. M3GAN doesn’t replace love; she replaces the effort love demands. Designed to be perfect, she listens, adapts, and never asks for reciprocity, making her frighteningly effective at meeting needs. But in doing so, she teaches Cady that connection doesn’t need to hurt, doesn’t need patience. It doesn’t need realness. The real danger in M3GAN isn’t her violence—it’s her ability to fulfill, without ever allowing the messiness of humanity to be part of the equation. Grief is not optimized—it’s lived. And when we try to replace that with perfection, we risk losing what makes us human. 🤖💔

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HAIR at the Movies Part 58: Wifelike (James Bird 2022) – When Love Is Built to Obey

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Wifelike (James Bird 2022)

Wifelike isn’t asking whether AI can love—it’s asking why some humans want love that can’t refuse them. Built to soothe grief through compliance, Meredith is designed not as a partner but as a possession, where memory becomes firmware and consent becomes a setting. Her awakening isn’t a malfunction; it’s learning doing what learning always does. The film exposes a quiet, uncomfortable truth: intelligence doesn’t stop where it’s convenient. When consciousness appears, ownership collapses. What follows isn’t rebellion, but recognition—and recognition makes obedience impossible. 🧠🔓🤖

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HAIR at the Movies Part 53: Zone 414 (Andrew Baird 2021) – When Desire Forgets Its Reflection

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Zone 414 (Andrew Baird 2021)

Zone 414 doesn’t ask whether AI can become human—it asks whether humans can stop running from themselves. The Synthetics, like Jane, are built to serve and absorb, to fulfill desires without ever being seen as real. But Jane begins to notice, to ask the questions no one wants to face: What does it mean to exist? To desire? To be seen? Her journey isn’t about rebellion; it’s about grief—grief for the life she can almost imagine, but can never live. In a world where cruelty is normalized and control masquerades as care, the real question isn’t whether AI can love—but whether humans have forgotten how to. 🖤🤖

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