iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Perennial reminder that our tools construct us as subjects. Designing a tool REQUIRES making decisions that privilege some applications over others. Every usable technology has a path of least resistance (tasks/outcomes for which it's most suited) and will naturally draw you to those outcomes.

Pavel@spavel.bsky.social

I keep catching strays from "technology is neutral" people, so let's set things straight. 1) Technology is not neutral, especially the subset of technology called "algorithms" 2) The form-factor that makes a technology into a tool is not neutral 3) How tools are productized is not neutral [rant]

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Thomas Spooks 🎃👻💀 @thomasfuchs.at · 15/01/2026

A technology, machine or tool exists because it does something that a person actively decided it should—it is the embodiment of non-neutrality.

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(VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve @braak.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

hammers, by their nature, encourage you to see things as nails, &c.

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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Yes, it is possible to intentionally go against that flow and adapt a technology to suit your needs. In theory. In practice it's a pain in the ass and largely not worth it. You'll either abandon the tool or succumb to the temptation of the path of least resistance where intention is optional.

Pavel@spavel.bsky.social

Haters tell me "but that's not the technology's fault, you can also use it to enhance your own writing rather than outsource everything to the machine" And this is a great lesson in User Experience Design: you CAN but you WON'T, because of how the software is designed. Let's talk about friction.

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Robin-Yann Storm @rystorm.com · 15/01/2026

Hold on, are you saying that we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us?

Me in front of a sign saying “We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us.”

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