About Sophie Loidolt

About Philipp Schmidt

The challenge

The philosophical question whether machines can be partners is currently a pressing one, especially in practical engineering applications. People have always used tools to organise their environment – as instruments to extend their physical abilities. However, the simple use of such a device does not constitute a form of interaction. The more complex and autonomous the functioning of machines is, the more indistinct the boundary between man and machine gets. Against this background, the question arises how to distinguish between the simple use of a machine and more complex forms of interaction and how to classify the latter taxonomically.