Personally, I think the ciliates put him up to it.

Stephen Wilson, a professor of conceptual and information arts at San Francisco State University, has created an art installation called "Protozoa Games". Protists, magnified via a digital microscope and projected on a display, interface with human competitors. A video, definitely worth the download, is available.

In the game "Follow Me", the humans try to mimic the motions of the protist within the microscope's field of view. Only gross motions are mimicked, which is kind of a shame; I'd think that adding pinwheels and ribbons to the available props would add a certain je ne sais quoi to the proceedings. Of course, choice of protist is essential to the total game experience. (As a foraminiferologist, my version would probably resemble nothing more than deep meditation, or several hours spent waiting in line at a government office.) 

In the "Control Me" game, the humans attempt to seduce, threaten, lure, or otherwise induce the protists to move onto the contestant's "target". The contestants have indifferent success, probably because their level of desperation is insufficient. There's nothing like a looming grant deadline to get you to talk persuasively to a protist. ("OK, now who's keeping you guys in media? Exactly. Now, look at the camera, smile, and say 'Figure 4'.")

The artist includes a helpful list of "artistic and theoretical themes" that are explored by the Protozoa Games. The theoretical aspects of manipulation of an art professor by a gang of Stentor remain unexplored. At least until someone develops a very small, waterproof Xbox controller.

Hat tip: New Scientist technology blog.