“Smart” appliances have been on the horizon for a while now, and we’ve even seen some examples, likeLG’s texting refrigerator. But as of yet, they were still appliances working on limited artificial intelligence systems—until interaction designer Simone Rebaudengo decided that our appliances would work better with human personalities. And he decided to prove it, by releasing networks of self-possessed toasters that he essentially made into toast addicts.
No, really.
This sounds like something the worst comic book villain of all time would create
The interaction designer has been researching the relationship between networked appliances for his work at Frog in Munich. Through collaboration with Haque Design Research based in London, he launched his “Addicted Products” project last year, where he let loose hundreds of toast-addicted toasters onto the world. Because that’s totally something a sane person does, not somebody who’s veering way too close to the mad scientist line.
Peer review, people. PEER REVIEW.
Through the course of his experiment, Rebaudengo programmed his toasters to want to toast things. I mean, really want to toast things. They tweeted their joy if they received bread, and became passive-aggressive and sulky if other toasters received attention instead of them—according to Discovery, particularly unhappy toasters were even capable of attempting suicide. All of the toasters were also capable of reminding the fridge to buy bread, which I assume they did with alarming frequency.
Rebaudengo’s toaster-addict network won best in show during this year’s Interaction Awards, but is on pause at the moment, probably because very few people actually want to live with a toaster that will go berserk if it doesn’t toast
enough bread.
Source Discovery.
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