1: AGENCY

Computer systems can have some degree of agency. Simply making a thing with intention and unleashing it on the world means it maintains some of that intention without its creator. That agency can act on others, other systems, other humans. (examples from SM)

Given this conception of agency, imagine a simple machine/device/interface you could conceivably build using existing tools/tech that communicates a sense of agency to a viewer/user. Try to keep your idea as simple as possible (e.g. a stuffed animal that gets scared at loud noise rather than a complex robotic system that can swordfight with humans).

2: GENDER/LABOR/PERSONAS/IDEOLOGIES

Software engineering is a field that has become male dominated. This lack of diversity combines with the ideologies of the relatively homogenous group of people that write software and “leaks out” into what they make. In other words, if men who write software imagine women in a specific kind of way (idealized, not one of “us”, etc) it can lead them to recreate that way of thinking in the software they write.

Given the above, try one or more of the following:

– Imagine an intervention/exercise/game/etc that would communicate the importance of diversity to programmers who haven’t thought about it. Try to keep the idea as simple as possible.

– How might we conceive of a concious AI that isn’t subject to stereotypical gender norms? Imagine what it might look like or sound like? How would human interaction benefit (or not) from this different conception of a constructed self? How might the AI see us differently than we see ourselves?

– design an interaction between humans (e.g. through an installation, app, or game) to illustrate that *connection by text* is not avoidance of connection but simply a *mode of connection*. perhaps consider whether Turkle’s belief that this *is* avoidance comes from older conceptions of what connection is (phone, in person conversation, etc.)

– create a set of rules for living that would demonstrate the fallacy of digital dualism. easy rule example: no smartphone devices for one week. theorize how your rule(s) will help humans understand the idea of augmented reality. do different rules need to be created for different age groups/generations?

– consider Turkle’s contention that we “measure our success” with metrics like calls answered, messages responded to, etc. do you agree? if yes, then what is a technological intervention/change you could make to blunt this effect? if no, then what is a technological intervention you could make to debunk this view? imagine you could alter any app or website as desired, create whatever game you wanted, or craft a physical installation that structures action and interaction.