I am the user (Am I the user)
Built upon the essay “Alexa’s Body: What the Interface Obscures and How Design Could Help Us See” by Johannes Bruder, 2021, dig deep into the scene of what makes AI the way it is. Layers over layers of invisible people of colour (POC) workers and using the user’s personal information without notice to create an intelligent artificial that already controls a few of our daily life decisions.
This begs the question: Who is the user? Are humans using AI? Or AI using humans? Or are both using each other? And do we humans even recognise this symbiotic relationship unfolding before us?
This begs the question: Who is the user? Are humans using AI? Or AI using humans? Or are both using each other? And do we humans even recognise this symbiotic relationship unfolding before us?
This publication is designed to be subtly inconvenient for the reader, prompting them to step out of the norm and question the visible and invisible content. Nowadays, the focus is on creating an easy-to-access User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) that helps users avoid information overload and get caught up in their daily tasks. For convenience, personification filters are made for us.
The filters AI creates are built from the biases of their users, sometimes even going so far as to deepen or validate the biases we already hold. Create a filter bubble that suits your preference and delivers content you want, rather than need. Building upon that idea, a publication that challenges conventional UI/UX design principles requires effort to read the content. Unlike the “Terms & Conditions' agreements, which are designed so you don’t want to bother reading them, they're more like the extra buttons you need to click when you decide to reject the “Privacy Cookies” instead of just clicking the “Accept” button. A puzzle in the form of a publication uncovers hidden meanings, deciphers the content, and questions everything you see and read, rather than just consuming it. For the reader to decide—to be the user or to be used.
Interactive Publication
Font: Fira Code - The Mozilla Foundation, Telefonica S.A., and Nikita Prokopov/ Anatta’s Handwriting - Anatta
Year
2024
Location
London, United Kingdom
Graphic Designer: Anatta
Lead Photographer: Xin Feng (Felice)
Assistant Photographer: Chengyu
Model: Jan Davies
Clothing Designer: Yiting Zhao
©Anatta2025