Embedded Interaction Essay

This syllabus for the course “Embedded Interactions” at the Art Center College of Design details the outline of the class and what topics will be covered. The course is focused on how the Internet of Things causes a shift in the way we interact with people and objects. By analyzing this syllabus with a Symbolic Interactionist point of view, I believe that it can reveal several key aspects with regards to the relationship between the Internet of Things and social class. As one section of the syllabus states, “our interactions are transitioning from point and click, multi-touch, and typing to talking, gesturing, behaving, and even thinking” with objects that will become “social” when connected to the Internet. This raises some interesting conflictions with the Symbolic Interactionist view of society. George Herbert Mead defines society itself as the product of meaningful social interactions; however, the Internet of
In fact, the syllabus explicitly acknowledges the question: “what are the social implications of CUI based interactions?” and its importance in the course. To answer this questions, the rise of “conversational user interface” (as opposed to graphical user interface, GUI, we use today) via the Internet of Things could quickly create disparities between the lower and upper class due to their socioeconomic status. Those with less money and therefore those who cannot afford wearable technology will be losing out on an entire spectrum of possible social interactions. By losing the opportunity to interact with internet-connected objects, the lower class cannot construct their “selves” in the ways that the middle and upper class will be able to. Thus, the rise of Internet of Things and its promotion of objects to acting units that can produce meaningful interactions will widen the gap between social classes not in the traditional economic sense, but a social and psychological