Beyond 'User': Embracing Humanity in Digital Interactions

Are we still 'users,' or has the term become an outdated relic that strips us of our humanity in the age of AI?

Amidst the evolution of technology, the term "user" increasingly feels like a vestige of an impersonal era. Originally coined in the mainframe-dominated 1950s, "user" implies a transactional relationship, failing to capture the nuanced interactions of today's digital landscapes.

With AI we are moving to a more person-centric terminology, where interaction becomes more important, so maybe moving away from "users" to "interactors" or simply "people" reflects more respect and engagement.

As AI and machine learning permeate our interfaces, the call to rethink how we label those who engage with technology becomes crucial. Does referring to someone as a "user" limit our ability to design intuitively human-centric systems?

Read the full article on MIT Technology Review.

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