d.bunk.

i have recently learned about soundboards, audio clips found online that can be used to prank call. i did not know such things existed until my roommate received a call from my other roommate, who was prank calling us with a soundboard made up of Peewee Herman sound clips. my roommate played along, being familiar with the particular Peewee lines and comfortable improvising a conversation with the soundboard. although a machine was producing the sounds, a human was choosing and initiating the audio clips. i am interested in this relationship. It is not fully organic conversation, because the audio clips are pre-recorded. there is still an interchange, because the side that controls the machine must decide what clip is played next. it is easy to highlight the clips’ robotic qualities. playing the same clip repeatedly emphasizes the word delivery and inflection that remain unchanging. to achieve a conversation that appears to have two human speakers, the delivery must remain seamless and the machine’s response must work with what the human speaker says. of course, the conversation is funnier when the responses are unrelated, but it is harder to ensure a flowing conversation.