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WIRED

Man, Machine: Can't We Get Along?
By Daithí Ó hAnluain

2:00 a.m. Sep. 13, 2002 PDT

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Some owners of Aibo, Sony's digital dog, actually believe their "pet" is unhappy with them, just by the noises it makes or the way its eyes change color. And tech lore is full of stories about the ways people have abused computers that act up.

The interplay between machines and human intellectual and emotional intelligence is the theme of an unusual exhibition showing this month at Dublin's 5th Gallery.

...The star of the show is undoubtedly Bjoern Schuelke's Drone #2. A giant mechanical bug, it looks like a demented cross between a bat, a praying mantis and the superstructure of a blimp. From afar, it appears graceful and free, but once it senses someone's presence its arms begin to hover menacingly, as if they had eyes, over the viewer.
The piece is chock-full of motion sensors, cameras and an LCD panel that together create the eerie impression that it's watching you watch it. ...