The anthropological machine

Project Description

This work draws from the concept of posthuman assemblages to defend the role of design as an enabler of re-embodiment, radically exploring possible future interactions between humans and their technology, in order to assist in a redefinition of human behaviour. Connecting with a broader anthropological practice, this “prosthetic hypothesis” serves a matrix for speculative thinking or social dreaming, i. e., for imagining alternative futures in interaction design.

Taking its name from Giorgio Agamben’s concept (Agamben, 2004), the anthropological machine aims to constitute an exploration on the possibility of re-naturalizing the human being by means of considering technology as a prosthetic medium for self-cognition.

Conceptually, the work navigates a possible future scenario where the interaction between human and object is reprogrammed through a process of analysis, abstraction and decontextualisation. The desired result would thus be a device that diverges so abruptly from the current taxonomy of daily use objects that it becomes alien to the user, acting as a second nature in which to find new patterns of behaviour and mutualism. This overcoming of the human is what constitutes and motivates the anthropological machine.

As well as questioning the purpose of the final product, tying it to a broader anthropological perspective on human-object interaction, the design process aims towards an overcoming of traditional design methodologies, by, for example, employing the image-generating artificial intelligence Dall-E 2 as a “prosthetic brain” to replace human dreaming and imagination in the early stages of design.

Bio

Originally from southern Spain, with a background in Architecture and Industrial Design Engineering, I often explore a holistic perspective on design, trying to unveil the system (ethical, technical or societal) behind every decision. My work is fundamentally research-based and experimental, drawing from philosophy, art, robotics, urban law, cuisine, and fiction.

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