The idea for my final project for the Exploratory Making class has evolved from the original gift I brought on day 1: a putty teacup with a captcha label that said “Human”.
The original idea was to focus on the in-person connection between humans (as inspired by my family’s tradition to drink tea in the evenings). As the project evolved, I started to wonder the extent to which the mode of connection changes the connection itself.
And if Alan Turing dreamed of designing a machine that would fool humans into thinking it was one of them, then daily we have to log in online and solve Captcha puzzles to prove we aren’t one of the machines. So are we any less human when we show ourselves over technology?
For this project, titled “Dial Me Up!” I will explore the human connection, as mediated by technology. A secondary issue I’m interested in is whether “old” vs. “new” technology changes the connection fundamentally.
I’m planning to use a corded telephone (three models are currently in play, depending on which one I can hack best, to connect it to an Arduino board). The audience members will be encouraged to dial a number, which will prompt a screen to play.
There will be a variety of video and audio options for each dial.I will use P5 coding to create or edit videos and images for the “connection” responses. One of the responses that I created was an “unsuccessful” internet connection sketch.
If I figure out how to make it happen, this will be shown on the IMA/ITP hologram machine; most likely, for this iteration of the project, the multimedia portion will be displayed on a large monitor.
My classmates and residents have been invaluable in trying to solve the technical puzzles, such as testing the phone wires for frequency and connecting me to similar work by previous ITP students; for example, thesis work by Ruta Kruliauskaite:
During the user experience seminar, I received helpful feedback from the classmate who acted as the first real “tester” of the idea. It made me want to create an interaction that was two-way and to prompt audience to respond to my response to the dial in some way. Even if I don’t have time to properly develop the idea in time of the Friday’s show, I look forward to seeing how the project can grow going forward.
Leave a Reply