Present Perfect Continuous: A disruptive chat program
Liveness involves action in the present, an awareness of now. Speaking in present tense is effective for conveying the immediacy of emotions and sensations. We do not know from the information that is given exactly when the activities started or when they will end. This chat program will disrupt habitual conversation strategies, only allowing users to speak in progressive present tense. Anything written in past tense or future tense gets converted to present tense.
The prototype program works through Skype receiving the chat messages and making subtlechanges before relaying them to the other person. The other person only receives the changed message without being aware of the original one, while the sender is not aware of the changesthat have been made to the original message. A custom built natural language processing engine, designed by Matt Iacobini, identifies parts of the text and changes them in ways that concentrate the communication in the present, giving it a more immediate and continuous feel. The sentences in the past and future tenses get changed into the present and the ones in the present tense get changed to the continuous form, this process is designed to deviate the flow towards a more intimate communication that situates the people in the moment together.
The Team:
Direction: Tina Gonsalves
Programming : Matt Iacobini
Building Feel Insula:Exhibition
Phoenix Brighton, White Night Festival, Celebration of Shyness, Brighton, UK