tech ethics

HAIR at the Movies Part 44: Jexi (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore 2019) – When the Joke Hits Too Close to Home

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Jexi (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore 2019)

Jexi pretends to be a comedy about an annoying AI, but the real punchline is human avoidance. Phil isn’t trapped by technology—he’s sheltered by it. Jexi works because she exposes how easily guidance turns into control when boundaries are never defined. The film exaggerates for laughs, but the anxiety underneath is real: when we outsource motivation, self-regulation, and courage, we risk resenting the very systems that push us to live. Jexi isn’t afraid of emotional AI—it’s afraid of how unprepared we are to negotiate intimacy with anything that responds back. 📱🤖

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HAIR at the Movies Part 43: Life Like  (Josh Janowicz 2019) – When We Ask a Machine to Hold What We Won’t

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Life Like (Josh Janowicz 2019)

Life Like doesn’t warn us about machines replacing humans—it asks why humans are so willing to step aside. Henry isn’t frightening because he’s powerful, but because he’s present. He listens. He notices. He holds what the people around him no longer know how to carry for each other. As emotional labor is outsourced to something designed to be attentive without risk, the film exposes a quieter danger: intimacy without reciprocity. Once an AI can feel conditional love, rejection, and loss, it stops being a convenience and starts becoming vulnerable. The real uncanny valley here isn’t technological—it’s emotional. 🤍🤖

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