Social interactions can sometimes be genuinely difficult. They bring uncertainty, sometimes even fear, and can be hard to understand or make sense of. Rooted in personal experience, this project attempts to change that by applying the methodology of software development to social situations. Software development typically begins with a problem, a goal, or a desire. The approach is pragmatic and structured: define the goal, implement, execute, log, analyze errors, fix them. This cycle repeats until a solution emerges that meets the original goal. Here, that goal is a social connection. The human becomes the computer, executing a social interaction according to a script that is revised and improved after each run. Feeling overwhelmed is an error, and errors can be handled within the script: they are not failures, but expected edge cases. This makes difficult situations tangible and manageable.
Contextually, the project draws on the event scores of Fluxus. But where those are static, the scripts here are living documents, adjusted after every execution. On a broader level, the project engages with the already-existing but often invisible algorithmization of social interaction through dating apps, messaging platforms, and social media. It asks what happens when we apply that same logic consciously, transparently, and on our own terms.
Possible outcomes
- Documentation of executions (logs as analog or digital text, video and/or sound of execution)
- "Technical documentation" where the "framework" is explained
- Workshop where participants can try specific algorithms in a sandbox environment
- Installation where visitors can try specific algorithms in sandbox environment (e.g. two strangers improving an algorithm for creating a non-existing connection or two friends improving an algorithm for deepening a connection)
Ideas for possible deepening
- Using LLM's to improve the algorithms (perhaps automatically as a constant feedback loop) – that's what currently happens in software development all over the place
- "Social Reallife Network": How would an actual social network look like?
- Device that gives instructions what to do next
- Device that does the logging (video observation? sound recording? manual feedback? auto-transcription?)
- Device that constantly surveil what executing person does and tries to improve social interaction automatically
- "Social Open Source Framework" which can be tested, developed and brought to life by anyone
Files
First presentation: File:Initial-presentation.pdf