Archive - IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

You Can't Hide Child Slavery with Skeuomorphism (But Apple's Sure Trying)

On moving towards an understanding of the designed interface as complicit in neocolonialism. And why I hate Liquid Glass.

Jul 4 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

May 2025

we all need to learn about the history of interface design

critically-informed co-design, the GUI as a political invention, and building the history of the interface into the collective imagination

May 30 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

April 2025

your video essay could have been a tiktok

On prosocial short-form content, collective knowledge building potential of short form social media, and why your video essay could have been a tiktok

Apr 2 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

February 2025

against the paved web (or, why we can't have nice things)

a ux-informed look at the next generation of persuasive technology, how ‘artificial serendipity’ disguises data exploitation, and what desire paths …

Feb 13 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

January 2025

the psychology of repost warriors

(or, collective knowledge building in the algorithmic age and how the algorithm makes activism a capitalistic competition)

Jan 19 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

December 2024

the children yearn for buttons, we should listen to them

a ux design-focused investigation of techno-nostalgia in it’s latest form: the yearn for the buttons and the yearn for the days of social media past…

Dec 13, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

November 2024

being performative is good, actually

why you shouldn't post videos of yourself crying online, the economy of affect and the allure of authenticity culture

Nov 20, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

what the left can do differently online

how social media literacy can let leftist activists appropriate technology for good in the digital age

Nov 6, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

October 2024

the plauge of overdesign

why smart devices make us want to throw them out a window, and why anyone thought that they were a good idea in the first place.

Oct 8, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

September 2024

in defence of naps

a ux perspective on time screen control apps & the reinforcement of regimes of self control, and an exploration of re-evaluating the way we rest as an…

Sep 15, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

August 2024

complain, profit, repeat: how your tweets spawn political bots and line zukerbergs pockets

a social analysis of political bots & the affective economy

Aug 17, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

June 2024

digital exceptionalism is destroying your media literacy

What 100 Years of Solitude can teach us about WWDC, AI Hype & Crypto Bros

Jun 29, 2024 •

lou millar-machugh (they/he)

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