Here's another set of strange machines, focusing on instincts. One enhances our biological instincts, and the other suppresses a mental instinct.
There's something about technology eroding our basic biological desires or functions – Sissel Tolaas often talks about how we mask our natural scents with deodorants. I'm working on machines using saliva and sweat, but the research I've been doing on tears might be relevant here.
Crying can be both reactionary to both a physical and emotional stimulus, and the emotional one especially can be difficult to predict or figure out. It can be manipulated or misconstrued. It has a lot of social connotations. The fact that emotional tears have been shown to reduce aggression or sex drive in men is a kind of instinctual reaction to a social context in which tears are present [bizarre fetishes not withstanding].
Maybe I need to make a machine that pricks a girl in the eyes if she feels nervous or threatened around a man. Or would crying in front of a creepy guy just make the situation worse? It would certainly make the girl feel more vulnerable. Or maybe knowing the effect the chemicals in the tears are having would foster a feeling of secret empowerment.
