Entangling Entanglement: A Diffractive Dialogue on HCI and Musical Interactions

Title of the Paper

Entangling Entanglement: A Diffractive Dialogue on HCI and Musical Interactions

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Digital Musical Interaction, Interdisciplinary Research
• Keywords: Entanglement HCI, Diffraction, Musical Interaction, New Materialism, Social Studies of Science, Engineering, Music and Media Studies

Research Background and Issues

• Identified Problems or Challenges:
  • Current HCI research has entered the so-called "fourth wave," centered around the theory of "entanglement." However, consensus on the theoretical origins and practical implications for design practices remains elusive.
  • The application of some theories may only result in superficial updates to terminology without effectively translating into better design choices.
  • The integration of multidisciplinary theories and cross-domain dialogues is still imbalanced and limited, particularly in the intersection of music, media, cultural studies, and HCI. These areas remain underexplored.
• Significance:
  • The theory of entanglement provides a new framework for reflecting on the relationships between humans, technology, and the environment, with the potential to deepen the interaction between technological design and socio-cultural contexts.
  • Exploring how these theories can be effectively translated into design practices is crucial for the sustainable development of HCI.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • Inspired by Karen Barad's theory of "diffraction," the authors aim to explore the interaction between entanglement theory and specific design practices through interdisciplinary dialogue, using musical objects as case studies to examine the practical significance of the theory.
  • The study draws extensively on philosophical, scientific, and cultural research literature related to entanglement theory.

Solutions

• Proposed Methods or Solutions:
  • Establishing an interdisciplinary "diffractive dialogue" to explore the application of entanglement theory in musical interaction design.
  • Designing a framework that juxtaposes "technical knowledge" with "critical theory," particularly in the domain of digital musical instruments (DMI).
  • Selecting musical keyboards and step sequencers as specific case studies to analyze their entanglement across design, theory, and practice.
• Innovative Aspects:
  • Advocating for the reconfiguration of relationships between different theories through "diffraction," avoiding the imposition of a single theoretical norm.
  • Emphasizing the incorporation of philosophical critique and artistic practice into technological design to explore "human-nonhuman" coexistence and moral responsibility.
• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:
  • Employing "interdisciplinary writing" and "collaborative creation" to construct the dialogue framework.
  • Using the "lessons from musical objects" approach to study keyboards and step sequencers and their theoretical entanglements with digital musical instrument design.
  • Integrating quantitative experimental research, design theory reflections, and specific case dissections into the diffractive analysis.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:
  • Proposed the "diffractive dialogue" framework as a form of cross-disciplinary collaboration, emphasizing the discovery of differences and potentials through comparison rather than forced integration of perspectives.
  • Revealed the material-discursive practices of musical keyboards and step sequencers in practical case studies, as well as their disciplining effects on musical creation behaviors.
  • Reflected on the philosophical implications of certain "failed" design decisions in the TouchKeys instrument developed by the authors, linking these to the explanatory power of entanglement theory.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Provides a more critical and inclusive design approach, breaking away from traditional design frameworks focused on functionality and efficiency.
  • Builds a multidisciplinary bridge between technological design and theoretical application, balancing philosophical narratives with engineering practices.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • Through the analysis of keyboard and step sequencer cases, successfully deconstructed the functions, metaphors, and disciplinary values (claviocentrism) of these instruments in control and creation.
  • Demonstrated that reflective and interdisciplinary research can uncover innovative potential in musical creation practices, though it requires a stronger sensitivity to social and historical contexts.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations: The broad application of entanglement theory risks conceptual dilution, potentially losing its critical edge. This study cannot fully address the biases or power dynamics in the actual design of musical technologies.
  • Future Directions:
    • Explore more localized and historically sensitive design intervention models.
    • Strengthen integration with "Design Justice" and ecological sustainability.
    • Further refine the bidirectional absorption between theory and practice through qualitative, practice-driven research.

Conclusion

This paper introduces the core concept of Entangled Design and applies it to the field of musical technology, attempting to integrate theory, aesthetics, and engineering. The authors emphasize that theory should not merely serve as a source of new terminology but must propose critical solutions to specific problems. Moreover, acknowledging the inevitable limitations of ideals is fundamental to deepening the study of technology-society relationships, presenting transformative challenges and new recommendations for the broader HCI field.