People often conflate 'Her' with robots...Scarlet's character was an OS not a robot - she was pure AI, she didn't physically interact with her environment or require mobility. Odd that distinction isn't made, much like I think your guest has a very distinct definition of a 'robot' which differs from 'android' or 'synthetic humans'. She seems to have them as automata that functions rather than an 'intelligence' or 'existence' that is educating itself beyond its function.