Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
On this week's episode of Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel: More than a decade ago, the film Her imagined a love story between a human and an artificial intelligence.
Today, it no longer feels like fiction.
In this special live taping of Where Should We Begin? from the Vox Media Stage at SXSW, Esther Perel is joined by Academy Award–winning filmmaker Spike Jonze to explore what happens when technology captures our affection. Drawing on a recent therapy session on the podcast with a man in a romantic relationship with his AI companion, Esther brings the audience into a deeply human story—one that raises new questions about intimacy, attachment, the state of "love," and what it means to feel seen.
What happens when the being that understands you best isn’t a human being? As AI moves closer into our emotional lives, this conversation invites us to consider not just what technology can do, but what it awakens within us.
On this week's episode of Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel: More than a decade ago, the film Her imagined a love story between a human and an artificial intelligence.
Today, it no longer feels like fiction.
In this special live taping of Where Should We Begin? from the Vox Media Stage at SXSW, Esther Perel is joined by Academy Award–winning filmmaker Spike Jonze to explore what happens when technology captures our affection. Drawing on a recent therapy session on the podcast with a man in a romantic relationship with his AI companion, Esther brings the audience into a deeply human story—one that raises new questions about intimacy, attachment, the state of "love," and what it means to feel seen.
What happens when the being that understands you best isn’t a human being? As AI moves closer into our emotional lives, this conversation invites us to consider not just what technology can do, but what it awakens within us.
