Sense and sensibility

Abstract

HCI evaluation methods are useful for improving the design of interactive systems, yet they may be rejected by nontraditional technology disciplines such as media art. We have developed a two-tiered evaluation model that responds to the concerns of interactive artists and have used it to improve the design of an interactive artwork, the Influencing Machine, exploring issues in affective computing. The method was interpretive, focusing on giving the artists a grounded feeling for how the machine was interpreted and their message was communicated. We describe the resulting design of the Influencing Machine and the reactions of users. The study itself is part of the art piece - together these activities achieve the goal of the artists: to provoke our cultural notions of whether a machine can "have emotions".