Background

We live in an age where technology is increasingly shaped to be more "human,” in an attempt to serve us better. On the face of it, this approach to technology appears benign — a logical way toward a future where technology becomes invisible and feels seamless. In reality, the dynamic that this approach produces is quite unsettling.

We bark orders at our voice assistants, demand lengthy, lucid solutions to our often convoluted prompts on generative AI tools, and lose our temper with chatbots — all with the implicit expectation of these technologies to respond “as humans” with inhuman patience and kindness — and these technologies, in fact, are programmed by us to respond in that manner.

What does this insular and sanitized interpretation of “humanity” say about us? What does it mean for technology to feel more human? Why do we program technology in this manner? Is it a matter of convenience, or is there a more sinister instinct within us that we seek to placate through this technology? The Clap Back is a reflection of these questions.

How it works

The Clap Back is a lamp that responds to claps as input to turn the bulb on or off. It is a play on ‘The Clapper,’ an American sound-activated switch from 1984, that would respond to claps (infamously, also to other loud sounds). However, the Clap Back also includes programmed vocal output that responds to each clap. The responses are grouped in three phases:

1. Phase 1: Kind and Positive
   • The Clap Back remains in Phase 1 as long as the frequency of claps is reasonable — in this case, with a gap of 10 seconds.
2. Phase 2: Passive Aggressive
   • The Clap Back enters Phase 2 when the frequency of claps ranges between 5 seconds and 10 seconds.
3. Phase 3: Aggressive
   • The Clap Back enters Phase 3, when the participant’s subsequent clap(s) follow the last one in less than 5 seconds.

This is an illustration for the initial logic for how the vocal responses would work. Each phase contains 6 responses: 3 responses for the light turning on, and 3 for it turning off.

Initially we conceptualized the sound output in pairs, which we later scrapped in favor or randomizing the pairs to make the responses feel more natural.

Although the sounds are randomized, the phases are not, and follow the logic outlined above.

Liam Treanor and I worked on this project as a team — from initial brainstorming and conceptualization to prototyping, execution and fabrication.

Initial illustration of the concept in a brainstorming session.

After running against walls with the practicality of many ambitious ideas, the Clap Back was our 8th idea, which had the perfect mix of simplicity, wit, and absurdity.

An initial schematic of the Clap Back.