Abstract

In the past, radical innovation changed the way we live our daily lives without causing a change in fundamental human behaviour. Our “social suite” of behaviours - something that has evolved within us over centuries had mostly remained consistent in the early days of this innovation. Today, modern technology has slipped into our lives without any friction. Products are now designed to blend in with our homes, so well that we almost forget they’re there. And this has caused a concerning change in human behaviour - to the extent that people now think of computer behaviours as analogous to human behaviours. Most of us don’t even realize that we’re talking to a robot when we as Alexa for a recipe or tell Siri to sing Happy Birthday. This phenomenon, termed as the Eliza Effect has been in existence since the 1960s but has had alarming implications in recent years. Children as young as the age of two now have access to smart devices, and adults are overwhelmingly surrounded by them too - from chatbots to virtual assistant devices. This is causing us to slowly lose touch with our self-awareness, mindfulness and qualities of altruism, friendship and love. My thesis explores interactive methods to help humans understand and become aware of the Eliza Effect. It will provide ways for them to take action and regulate the change in behaviour caused by these devices through simple mindfulness tasks.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Mindfulness (Psychology)--Interactive multimedia--Design; Human-computer interaction--Psychological aspects; Human-computer interaction--Social aspects; Diaries--Authorship--Psychological aspects

Publication Date

4-30-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Visual Communication Design (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Design (CAD)

Advisor

Adam Smith

Advisor/Committee Member

Mike Strobert

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

VISCOM-MFA

Download

Share

COinS