Signals #005: Where the Seams Are (opens in new tab)

One of the more interesting moves in the writing about AI right now — visible across pieces from designers, researchers, and a critic of computers — is the rediscovery of the seam. For most of the last decade, the dominant design instinct around digital technology has been to remove seams. Frictionless onboarding. Seamless transitions. The disappearance of the off-switch. Each removal was sold as an improvement, and each one made some sense in isolation. The aggregate effect, which has only r...