A Kiwi in NYC

So over the last few weeks a kernel of an idea has been forming in my wee pea-sized brain:

• When we began interacting with computers, we used numbers … abstract numbers turned into characters, punched into cards or tape. This was a very low bandwidth and low empathy connection with a computer. Our interactions were abstract, structured, and concrete.
• As computers matured, we began to interact with them through text (commands, special keys, saving text and information to disks). This communication was higher bandwidth but limited in emotion. Literate (or computer literate) people became (sometimes) emotionally connected to their machines (programmers). People used their critical reasoning skills to interact with the machine.
• Once we broke “beyond the character” into the display of graphics and simple sounds our connection to the machine became stronger. We were able to create art and music on our machines. This was the beginning of the current state of the art in empathy with the machine. People can interact using sight and sound, two much stronger senses than abstract reasoning or writing.
• Technology has matured and now almost every PC has close to photorealistic graphics rendering hardware and immersive audio capabilities. Our emotional connection to the machine has reached a whole new level. Halo 3, Gears of War, iTunes, flash, silverlight, papervision 3d … We can now interact with a fully immersive 3d visual and aural environment. Interaction design is bringing together video, motion, audio, into a strong emotional connection with almost any kind of application.
• Now play this scenario forward … what is next? With the advent of cheap multi-touch displays (John Chen’s wii-mote hack, iphone, surface) we have now begun to introduce the idea of a tactile interface. With the eventual breaking of the rectilinear box (OLEDs) we have removed the need for a computer interface to be flat. Will this extend our emotional connection to the machine to our sense of touch? I don’t know about you, but for me touch is a much more “intimate” sense than vision or hearing. What will this mean for interaction design? What will this mean for application designers? What will this mean for technology?