The Alienated Senses: Artificial Stimuli for Sensory Perceptions in Interaction with Infomatas

Abstract

This is a qualitative study of exploratory nature, that investigates the senses alienated by the transformation of domestic objects into media, adding to communication and information technologies a functional meaning of interaction. This article aims to substantiate that environment perception through the senses changes when dealing with media infomata, which that have become ways of both media distribution and information storage. The high-tech revolution brought new questions, while household appliances act as media by providing, actively, interactively, or passively, connections between people, infomata, databases and objects. It bets on the alteration of subjectivities from the modulation of experience by interaction human-technology and, therefore, uses the theory of materialities in communication, of the human mechanization and modulations between bodies, technologies, and environment. The qualitative research evolved personal testimonies from 14 volunteers from Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo, during the first semester of 2023. The sample as non-random, purposive sample, constituted of subjects that are knowledgeable individuals in the context of the study. Analysis reveals layers of alienation about the use and role of domestic digital personal assistants and an imminent artificialization of sensorial perception.