Final answer:
The 'cout object' is used for displaying output on the screen in C++ programming, and '<<' is the insertion operator used to send information to cout.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cout object in C++ programming is used for output, specifically to display information on the computer screen. When you want to send information to cout, you use the insertion operator, denoted by <<, to 'insert' the information into the output stream.
Here is an example of using cout and << in a program:
std::cout << "Hello, world!";
This line will display the string "Hello, world!" on the computer screen.