Conference Paper
Exploring Possible Futures With Computational Media
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Text/Conference Paper
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Date
2021
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Publisher
European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET)
Abstract
When thinking about software, we often think about applications with a fixed set of functionality that are tied to particular devices. While applications provide functionality for their use cases, e.g., a word processor for writing text, they are usually inflexible in providing functionality beyond their often narrow use case. An alternative model considers software as a medium — Kay and Goldberg think of it as expressive and malleable as paper or clay. My research explores computational media and possible futures of software built with computational media by following an explorative and qualitative research approach using high-fidelity prototypes. I present preliminary results of properties of computational media, the potentials and limits of them, and use cases where software built with computational media excels. With my research, I aim to contribute to rethinking applications as the predominant model of software, shifting software towards a more malleable foundation, overcoming the boundaries of applications and devices.