Our houses are ever more crowded... The consequences of the sonification of technology

Abstract

This paper discusses the consequences of introducing new sound technologies into our homes. The author is particularly interested in how devices that emit sounds and communicate with us through earcons, acoustic icons, and other forms of sonification change our perception of the home itself, our perception of reality, and our actions. This analysis leads to the pessimistic conclusion that sounded devices only seemingly expand the scope of our control over the world, while in fact they deprive us of certainty.