725. On Ideal Subjects. How To Be Abstract (Russia/United Kingdom). A talk with Olga Goriunova

Olga Goriunova is a cultural theorist who works at the intersection of technology, media, philosophy, and aesthetics. Originally from Russia, she is now based in the UK. Her research is transdisciplinary, bringing together ideas from computing, art, philosophy, and literature.

In this interview, we talk about her latest book, Ideal Subjects: Abstract People of AI. In it, she explores how data and artificial intelligence turn people into abstract versions of themselves— “subjects” shaped by data.

The idea of “ideal subjects” can be useful for designers and user researchers, especially when trying to understand—or even question—the way our online data represents us.

In this interview Olga helps us to question:

She is helping us to question:  

• What kind of “person” is created through data?

• Can a representation ever match a human being?

• What happens when these data-based constructions start to influence how we see ourselves?

This episode is part of several lists: Investigación en diseño, Reino Unido y diseño, Rusia y diseño, D&D in English, Filosofía y diseño, Arte y diseño social, and AI en UX. While many of the list titles are in Spanish, the content itself is trilingual. Some episodes are in English, others in Spanish or Portuguese. The list D&D in English brings together all the English-language episodes, and it now includes nearly 50 interviews.