Relational Machines
MIT's Media Arts and Sciences course on designing machines and software agents that interact with people in socially meaningful ways. Classes combine lecture, studio-style design work, and critique sessions, with discussion of assigned readings drawn from social psychology, human-computer interaction, and design research. Students examine how ideas about relationships, trust, and social behavior get built into robots and software agents, then apply those principles in their own design assignments. The course materials, available through MIT OpenCourseWare, include the syllabus, readings list, and assignment descriptions used in the actual class. It suits students or designers interested in the intersection of psychology and interactive systems, particularly how social science findings translate into concrete interface and robot behavior design choices rather than staying theoretical.