Sketches of Everything: The First Test of Interactivity

“In 1988, I was invited to exhibit “Very Nervous System” at the Siggraph Art Show. “Interactivity” was just emerging as a buzzword and there was a lot of scepticism on the floor. Many attendees entered my installation to “test” it using what I’ve come to call the “First Test of Interactivity.” The test involves determining whether the system will consistently respond identically to identical movements. (Note that an intelligent agent will probably fail this test.) They would enter the space, let the sounds created by their entrance fade to silence, and then make a gesture. The gesture was an experiment, a question to the space; “What sound will you make?”. The resulting sound was noted. Second and third gestures were made with the same motivation, and the same sound was produced. After the third repetition, the interactor decided that the system was indeed interactive, at which point they changed the way they held their body and made a gesture to the space, a sort of command: “Make that sound.” The command gesture was significantly different from the early “questioning” gestures particularly in terms of dynamics, and so the system responded with a different sound. I observed a couple of people going through this cycle several times before leaving in confusion. Their body had betrayed their motivation.”