Open Questions and Next Steps

Questions and considerations that this exploration aims to explore include the disembodiment of data and what it means for the origins of information to be unknown; the ways we think about and expect technology to mediate social connection, memory, information sharing, and communication, through an artifact that revives and reimagines what might have otherwise been lost or unknown.

How do we make our presence known in our digital footprint? What “ghosts” of ourselves are we leaving behind unintentionally? How remote and ambient presences can mediate communication and connection, and how can we tap into the power of sound to surface memories and reminiscence? What it means for a non-human entity to embody and take on animistic qualities (through sound and storytelling)?

To further explore these questions, a more distinct connection between the content of the outputs and the manner of soliciting outputs could be considered. For many visitors, the exact nature of the voices they were hearing was unclear–but a point of great curiosity and interest. When I explained the exact origins of each message–and the deeper context–the experience became not only more entertaining and voyeuristic, but more personal as well. Rather than only peering into the lives of others, visitors were able to make connections to aspects of their own lived experience as well, twisting the original intention of the concept in an interesting direction.