TY - GEN
T1 - Narcissus, Agency, and the Mirror as Interface
AU - Welisch, Gaston
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - This article discusses the distributed agency of AI chatbot interfaces through the conceptual framing of mirrors and divination practices such as catoptromancy. It draws from theories of interface aesthetics (Galloway), the postmodern shift in computing (Turkle), and the narcotic effects of AI interaction (McLuhan), it interrogates how these interfaces shape perception, engagement, and autonomy. The chatbot, like a scrying mirror, reflects the user’s input, amplifying desires and biases while obscuring the underlying system’s agency. This piece critiques the illusion of anthropomorphic interaction, the reinforcement of echo-chambers, and the implications of opaque technological mediation. Rethinking interfaces beyond the dialectics of transparency-opacity, helps us proposes alternative models that promotes reflexivity and friction.
AB - This article discusses the distributed agency of AI chatbot interfaces through the conceptual framing of mirrors and divination practices such as catoptromancy. It draws from theories of interface aesthetics (Galloway), the postmodern shift in computing (Turkle), and the narcotic effects of AI interaction (McLuhan), it interrogates how these interfaces shape perception, engagement, and autonomy. The chatbot, like a scrying mirror, reflects the user’s input, amplifying desires and biases while obscuring the underlying system’s agency. This piece critiques the illusion of anthropomorphic interaction, the reinforcement of echo-chambers, and the implications of opaque technological mediation. Rethinking interfaces beyond the dialectics of transparency-opacity, helps us proposes alternative models that promotes reflexivity and friction.
UR - https://www.posthumanart.com/post/narcissus-agency-and-the-mirror-as-interface-gaston-welisch
U2 - 10.13140/RG.2.2.13663.98721
DO - 10.13140/RG.2.2.13663.98721
M3 - Other contribution
ER -