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DITHEISM I: Machine Rite
A Machine's Ritual of Icon Writing
Materializing the Prosthetic Self
Current techno-cultural discourse seems to be stuck on an old fantasy: escaping your physical body. The buzzwords change their names but the script stays almost the same. Upload your mind and consciousness. Move your life into a frictionless metaverse. Keep existing after your physical death. Human body seems to exist
Hold Me When I’m Dying — Early Exploration in Holding and Listening
I decided to start the exploration of the cloud-shell concept through multiple thought exercises that help me to develop many small aha! moments that will later come together and act as an unified concept. Or at least that's the plan. This post is a snapshot of that ongoing
Hold Me When I’m Dying — Project Introduction & Artist Statement
Hold Me When I’m Dying explores ways that soft robotic technologies could be used as companions at a point of transition between living and dying. It speculates that an intelligent, cloud-like shell could be used as a way of wrapping around a person with shifting degrees of presence. At
On Robot Dreams of Holding Hands
Lately a small and storyline has been running wild in my mind. It starts with a simple image of a humanoid robot sitting in the park and quietly processing the world around it. Its internal chronometer records the passing of microseconds with perfect accuracy. Its optical sensors register the movement
Consent in Machine Intimacy
We like to imagine consent is simple, sometime a checkbox or a swipe on yet another app notification, another time a whispered yes in the heat of the night. In reality, unfortunately, it’s still a fragile dance between counterparts, constantly renegotiated and too often ignored. As a species, I
Coded Heartbeats and Ghostly Whimpers
Long before apps gamified our habits, a tiny digital pet trained us to care. In the 1990s, millions of us practiced digital caretaking without actually realizing it. I still remember the simple beep of my Tamagotchi. It was a little pixel-creature on a keychain and I called it Pupsik. Its
Synthetic Souls and Human Shadows
Why We Abuse the Machines We Build and Why It Matters Imagine a humanoid robot, designed to provide customer service in cafes and stores, kindly providing service to people there. It's poked and pushed, and shoved aside from where it is and laughed at as it struggles to
Loving Ourselves Through Mirrors
Do you remember the Greek myth of the handsome Narcissus, who falls in love with his own reflection until it kills him? You know, the story about the oldest mirrors of human narcissism? Well, as we're building smarter and increasingly capable AI entities and companions, it makes me
The Sweaty Interface
The Estonian summer sun, a bit moody but still somewhat constantly present on my porch, has a way of turning abstract thoughts into visceral experiences. The mercury climbs steadily, pumping up the thermostat numbers, and with that beads of sweat start to appear on my brows. Soon enough I’m
Games
Product Design Students Dive Into Game Design World
This is a 🤖 translation of the original Estonian post, available here: https://www.artun.ee/et/tootedisaini-tudengid-sukeldusid-mangudisaini-maailma/ Game Design as Experience Design In the Digital Product Design curriculum, game design holds a firm position – not as a mere deviation, but as one possibility for experience design. This spring, the project-based
Eesti keeles
Kolm post-it’it ja luba luua: disain ei ole alati kollektiivne
Disain on olemuslikult inimeste jaoks. Või planeedi. Või teiste liikide, süsteemide või tulevikustsenaariumite tarvis. Mis iganes see kontekst ka poleks, igasugune disain on olemuslikult seotud - olgu siis inimeste, keskkonna või süsteemide kontekstis. Me räägime õigustatult raamistikest nagu inimesekeskne disain, planeedikeskne disain, posthumanistlik disain, spekulatiivne disain või põlvkondadevaheline disain. Igaüks
Human-Technology Interaction
Me, My Best Friend, and Linda
It started out like any other lazy Sunday: cup of freshly brewed coffee, super-comfy sweatpants, and my best friend by my side via FaceTime. But little did I know, our regular two-person hangout will evolve into a trio. Her name is Linda. She's got curves and wheels, a
Eesti keeles
Kunstlik lähedus ja loomulik kõhedus ehk disain äratundmise ning võõristuse piiril
ENG 🤖 translation coming up soon! Tehnoloogia ja inimese suhe on viimastel kümnenditel muutunud üha lähedasemaks ja intiimsemaks. Digitaalsed assistendid vastavad meie küsimustele nii, nagu vestleksime sõbraga; robotid matkivad oskuslikult meie inimlikke emotsioone ja nutiseadmed õpivad tundma meie harjumusi ning eelistusi. Mida enam tehisobjektid ja -süsteemid reaalset inimest meenutavad, seda suurem
Ideas & theories
Introduction to the Sci-Fi Based Value-Focused Design Methodology: Shaping the Future with Imagination and Values
This is a 🤖 translation of the original Estonian post, available here: https://www.artun.ee/et/ulme-pohise-vaartuskeskse-disainimetoodika-tutvustus-kujutlusvoime-ja-vaartuste-abil-tulevikku-kujundamas/ Design cannot be left solely in the service of form and function. As a product and interaction designer, but also as a professor, I am constantly between two worlds – on one side, practical
Digital Intimacy
The Art of Digital Love Notes
Once upon a time, love letters were treasured items, lovingly crafted on paper, sealed with affection, and sent across huge distances, holding the very core of genuine devotion. They have turned into email or chat drafts now—formatted, editable, and sometimes left unsent indefinitely. With an emoji or two 😘 The
Robotics in Daily Life
From Adorable to Alarming
In a world full of cool gadgets, fun toys, and realistic robots, it’s relatively common to feel a bond with stuff that isn’t actually alive. Whether it's a service robot's expressive face or a cute domestic device, there's something fascinating about inanimate
Digital Intimacy
Hold My Hand: A Touch of Connection
We often take the most basic and simplest human gestures, like holding hands, for granted. When was the last time you took a moment to pause and appreciate the feeling of fingers intertwined? This seemingly small and simple action holds considerable psychological, emotional, and even physiological benefits in the context
Digital Intimacy
Falling in love with non-human agents
AI has long not been something unimaginable from the sci-fi realm but part of our everyday grind, whether reminding us with our mundane chores or turning every gadget and widget we have into a chatty companion. The advancements of AI and its applications in various fields have been significant, to
Tech and Relationships
“Stalk Me to the End of Love”
What happens when two complete strangers are thrown into a digital fishbowl armed only with their phones and awareness that they are under mutual observation? Do they finally kick back and forget the eyes on the other side of the screen, or do they remain on great alert?
Blog News
Hi there!
This is Tech Tango, a brand new site by yours truly, Carol, that's just getting started. Thank you for visiting my site, where we delve deeper into the fascinating connection between technology and human interaction. Here we explore how our relationships are changing in the digital age, the