[Play video while speaking]
Let me put this in a less academic way.
What I think is happening is this. As the complexity of technology has increased, it has passed a threshold. We can no longer have a simple theory of mind for our tech, and treat it like rocks. We are already anthropomorphising our technology, and our metaphors have reached breaking point.
This means we need a new set of metaphors. And what I am suggesting is this:
Just as electricity came into its own with fractional horsepower motors, maybe smart objects and the network can come to life with a kind of "fractional artificial intelligence".
Things don't need to be as intelligent as HAL, but slightly smart things are relatable. This Roomba is dumb enough that it's buildable and we know it's never going to borrow the car and go hang out at the mall... but smart enough to be unpredictable and funny.
You haven't heard a word I've been saying, have you?
Matt Webb, Web Directions South 2014 (Sydney, Australia), October 2014