The CBS show Person of Interest (POI) began in a familiar case-of-the-week format, one set against the backdrop of post-9/11 New York City. Yet, what began as crime drama evolved into a complex and intriguing sci-fi noir program. *POI *extends beyond its initial genre to tackle currently relevant topics such as the growing presence of surveillance, privacy rights, the U.S. response to terrorist threats, and, perhaps most significantly, artificial intelligence.
Through the character of Root (Amy Acker), a killer for hire-turned-hacker, POI’s writers and showrunners thoughtfully explore some key issues resting at the heart of posthumanism: the integration of human and machine and its effects along with the moral and ethical implications of developing artificial (super)intelligence. Root becomes The Machine’s analog interface, which puts her in the position to run the “tertiary operations” for her “God” or, more simply, for “Her”. Root’s reference to The Machine as a deity brings forth posthumanist questions about technological dependence and faith in artificial intelligence.
Root goes so far as to obtain a cochlear implant, which allows her to have constant communication with The Machine and avoid interference from the antagonist AI, Samaritan. In doing so, she demonstrates one possible way of humans becoming a cyborg of sorts. At the end of the series, Root sacrifices herself for The Machine and its creator, Harold Finch, an inevitability given her consistent objective of always protecting the two. After her physical death, The Machine takes Root’s voice as its own, and, because “the people that She watches over the most, She knows the best,” The Machine, in many ways, becomes Root—to “99.6%” accuracy—and vice versa. Thus, POI ends on a posthumanist note: how we could potentially use artificial (super)intelligence to transcend death.