Going against the grA.I.n

As I set my goals for 2025, things feel different. This year I strive to be sub-optimal. I strive to be inefficient. I strive to have fewer habits. I strive to be imperfect.

I used to aim to be a better person in the new year by striving for perfection. As the world automates around us, I’m just aiming to be a better human, and that requires the opposite.

Kintsugi is all about embracing the humanity of imperfections. Photo by SIMON LEE on Unsplash.

The “You” in UI

Human behavior is an enigma; I don’t think I’d be here as a UX practitioner if I didn’t see the allure in that mystery. On the one hand, we put so much effort into user research, to observe empirical human behavior, to distill billions of people into some predictable archetypes. And on the other hand, we know that humans are naturally unpredictable. It’s a certain tension between patterns and surprises. There’s no “answer,” but that doesn’t stop us from trying to find one.

Personally, I start to feel uncomfortable when I feel like I’m becoming predictable. Years ago, Facebook profiles added a bio section and prompted me to “describe myself in 100 characters.” Since that day, it’s read:

“If I could describe myself in 100 characters, that’s not who I’d want to be.”

Setting aside the teenage hipster snobbery packed into that, it kind of still holds true. If I’m zigging so much my personality fits on a postage stamp, that’s when I know it’s time to zag.

Searching for “algo más”

Here’s the problem with my need to remain unpredictable. We now live in the AI present. I don’t mean some abstract idea of futuristic robot uprising AI. I mean the combination of Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models, and Computer Vision advances that have conspired to reduce the number of visible, tangible interfaces we used to encounter.

We could argue all day about which things are fundamentally different in an AI-first world, but one undeniable difference is that the more intelligent technology gets, the fewer visible interfaces a human sees.

Whether it’s the AI Pin, which attempted to be a phone without a screen, or an automated camera that inspects a shopper’s cart leaving Sam’s Club, or a voice command to play the virtual AI DJ on Spotify, we allow machines to make many decisions for us. As much as 80% of Netflix content comes from suggestions rather than user input. An estimated 3–4% of the entire music industry streaming revenue comes from Spotify algorithm suggestions rather than deliberate choices. And when it comes to short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, there isn’t even an illusion of choice; content is auto-served without any user intervention.

Finding new content used to be stressful and search interfaces can be clunky, so these algorithms are advertised as helpful features.

Yay for us! Less visual noise! Fewer distractions! Right?

When you assume…

With each automated decision, we remove a choice, a slice of agency, from the user. As we do this more often, we begin to leave some of our personality behind. If the algorithms are an average of our calculated habits, then living on autopilot will leave us regressing toward the mean.

I assumed there would be a relevant XKCD comic and I was right. Source.

It’s becoming a struggle to find music, movies, content, and clothes that feel like they’re uniquely mine. The work it took to find these things on my own used to bring with it a stronger emotional bond, a certain coolness that came with burning your friend a mix CD that you curated yourself.

I’m starting to feel like I can be described in 100 parameters. That’s not who I want to be.

How to reclaim your humanity

Don’t despair. It’s not too late to swim upstream. In 2025, I recommend five techniques to help you get your personality back.

1. Embrace the clutter

This is no longer the year of Marie Kondo. It’s time to let a little clutter back into your life. In the long run it will spark joy. If a digital interface were a home, a perfectly clean one wouldn’t feel welcoming.

Likewise, if you really want your users to be able to “have it their way,” you need to be willing to add back some of the visual noise that’s been automated out.

Having it your way means living with UI controls. Source.

2. Write your own personal Turing Test

Sure, computer science academics already have their own definition for what makes a machine indistinguishably “human.” Take this opportunity to do the opposite. What makes you distinctly not a machine? Where do you like to let your creativity shine? What’s a unique skill that makes you “you”?

Reginé Gilbert captured this sentiment well at her Config 2024 talk which challenged us to identify these special skills and embrace them. Ovetta Sampson issued a similar challenge at Config 2023 from an ethics angle: if a machine joined your team, what would you not want it to be in charge of?

Hopefully, solving CAPTCHAs isn’t the only skill that sets you apart from computers.

When you find the things that set you apart from a machine, hold on to them. These will be increasingly important as you navigate the future.

3. Take the stairs

Metaphorically, that is. Learn to love the process as much as you love the output.

Now that you know your personal Turing Test, carve some time out of each day to exercise those creative muscles and do it the hard way. AI is here to save us time from drudgery, but remember that not everything is a drudge. If you actually enjoy writing, don’t let ChatGPT take that away from you. If you like to draw, don’t use an AI art tool.

I think back to my many pandemic hobbies when time was in surplus. I didn’t need to hand-knit a scarf or bake my own bagels; there are machines that could’ve done it for me in a fraction of the time. But I enjoyed the process. I’m proud of each missed stich that only I know is there, and I appreciate that they symbolize proof that a human made it.

Few things beat the satisfaction of pulling a batch of my handmade bagels out of the oven.

4. Leave a little mystery

Personal data is now a commodity, and the more you offer up, the more you feed the algorithms that control your life. It’s okay to play some cards closer to your chest instead.

Remember that you don’t have to accept all browser cookies on pages you visit. You don’t have to fill in every optional profile field. You don’t need to “Like” everything you like. You can stop your social media accounts from tracking your web activity. You can’t stop the data giants from trying to typecast you, but you can make them work a little harder at it.

5. Misbehave sometimes

All things in moderation — even moderation. Be yourself, but sometimes don’t. Preemptively avoid the ruts you might be heading toward in 2025 by breaking even your more benign habits.

Take a different route home from work. Try listening to an artist or genre you wouldn’t have considered. Confuse your barista by not ordering your regular. Go on a spontaneous road trip.

At worst, you’ll shake the targeted ads from their uncanny precision. At best you might find something new that you like, and you will have found it “the old fashioned way.”

Be less predictable in the year ahead. We will likely find ourselves with even more technology, more opportunities to save ourselves time, clicks, and brainpower. When those opportunities present themselves, be judicious with when you lean in or lean out. Lean in when the time you’re saving can be better spent doing something you love. But don’t let yourself automate your personality away.