Algorithmes entre objets et médiums : étude des traces d’un matériau numérique

This contribution investigates the relationship between mediums and objects via a study of the nature of algorithms. Beginning with the observation that, for computer scientists and programmers, algorithms exist as design objects before becoming a design medium for other professions, we first examine the tangible traces left by algorithms at different stages of the design process. These include source code snippets described on forums, diagrammatic representations of algorithmic logic at exhibitions, and libraries used in programs. The existence of these traces then leads us to an understanding of algorithms as mediating objects; through a series of examples where the boundary between design product and design tool blurs, we uncover a specific materiality of the algorithm as a native digital object. Finally we focus on two specificities of algorithmic material that facilitate its existence as a medium: recursion and relation. In conclusion, we show that these two properties contribute to blurring the distinction between object and medium.