Mood Manipulator

Lauren McCarthy describes making art that explores how people relate to one another and how technology shapes those relationships. She discusses projects that use software, surveillance, and human intervention to influence dating, conversation, mood, and behavior, including Social Turkers, Mood Manipulator, Us+, and Conversacube. Her work on p5.js centers on making creative coding more welcoming through accessible design, documentation, and community outreach. She also introduces Lauren, a short home automation performance in which she would observe and assist participants, and reflects on empathy, emotional labor, humor, and the uncertain future of digital art.