Expressive Technology

From an email I just sent out:

I’m building a robotic marionette (see http://www.delamaquina.com). The couple times I’ve shown it off in public, it is fascinating to watch reactions — first, people notice this creepy puppet moving around… then inevitably, their eyes travel up the strings and see this machine with spinning pulleys and wires. They stare at this device, mesmerized by the motion and peering all around it to see how it fits together. THEN, after a few minutes, they notice I’m standing off to the side, pushing buttons and working sensors to make the puppet move… that’s when the conversation begins, “OH! you’re controlling it by that computer! How does it work?” or “What does this mean for puppetry?” or “Who’s controlling whom?

So maybe “Technology is just another art medium through which emotion can be expressed?”

Indeed, I think that’s becoming my own unresolved question: can we coax expressiveness out of technology, itself?