VOICE, SENSATION AND SPATIAL EXPERIENCE: AN EXPLORATION ON VOICE, SENSATION AND ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

“Element software is proud to introduce the first artificial intelligence operating system. An intuitive entity that listens to you, understands you, and knows you. It’s not just an operating system. It’s a consciousness. Introducing OS1,” goes the tagline for OS1, the operating system in which Samantha belongs. The way humans uses spaces and interacts with each other changes drastically ever since the introduction of electronic devices coupled with the development in the area of communication and information technologies. We don’t just experience the physical space but engage in the virtual realm as well. Human to human interactions are no longer restricted by physical distance as communications and interactions can also occur through electronic devices. Furthermore, as our mobile phones become increasingly “smarter”, artificial intelligence can even subside within it and activated through voice. This opens up possibilities of experiencing spaces through our sensations with the absence of physicality. The film, Her(2013) will be analyzed and discussed together with the theories on artificial intelligence, virtuality and sensations. Her(2013) is specifically chosen as it is written about a world not long from now and resembles the world we currently resides in. throughout the entire film, the main character, Theodore Twombly only interacts with his operating system, Samantha through voice. Samantha is not a typical operating system, which only responds with simple commands, but is programed with a human voice able to display emotions. To Theodore, she is as if a human living within his mobile phone. Her voice slowly infiltrates into every aspect of his life, which eventually results in a love relationship. As Theodore prefers dwelling in the virtual realm over the real world, most of his spatial experiences were due to sensations stimulated through the interactions with Samantha’s voice. The main objective of this paper is to discover the possibilities in which spaces can be experienced albeit only through sensations.