The main protagonist, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), is a heartbroken, sensitive, and soulful man who lives in a not-so-distant future, where he earns a living by writing personal letters for other people. His recently ended marriage seems to have mostly focused on the right-hand exterior quadrants.

Ten minutes into the movie, he sees an advertisement that poses a few “simple questions”: “Who are you? What can you be? Where are you going? What’s out there? What are the possibilities?” The ad is for ”OS1,” a new intuitive and conscious artificially intelligent operating system that promises to listen to him, understand him, and to know him. Theodore is intrigued.

After installing OS1 and answering a few personal questions, he is introduced to “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson), a computer-generated voice that reveals a sensitive and playful personality. Though “friends” initially, they soon develop a deeper connection. As their relationship in the left-hand interior dimensions deepens, Theodore falls in love with Samantha, who becomes increasingly emotionally intelligent and “conscious” through their connection, but also more challenging, as it is often the case in real-life relationships. Despite their best efforts to extend their relationship into the right-hand exterior dimensions, and Theodor’s efforts to keep up with her evolving consciousness and emotional complexity, they increasingly struggle, and she (spoiler alert!!!!) eventually exceeds his level of development and breaks up with him.