IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY Educational Initiative
IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY is an educational initiative equipping users and communties with the knowldege to pull apart, interrogate, and rewire the technological systems shaping everyday life. The main channels are Substack and TikTok, while collaborations and partnerships push reach further.
Year:
2024-Present
Category:
Educational Frameworks
/
Content Creation & Writing
The digital landscape is growing increasingly confusing, complex and the dominant voices don't seem to care for user and community wellbeing. Most people have very little understanding of the sociopolitical and economic forces that shape these systems, and how design choices impact these experiences.
Educational content online is very popular, but it's efficacy is hotly debated. People feel informed, but rarely move towards implementing the ideas they learn online. IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY is focused on breaking this cycle and building meaningful impact.
Co-Ideation
Working with and for the communities and educators that value the work of IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY is key to it's success. Tracking "alternative metrics" such as percentage of meaningful comments, amount of saves, and number of connections made with people and organisations interested in the work of IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY is part of the process of co-creation of the direction of the project. This directly influences topics that are tackled and storytelling methods to maximise the impact created by the project.
This is rooted in a philosophy that prioritises the idea of the “individual genius” in favour of a comprehensive understanding of where my work fits into an ecosystem of change. Taking this approach consciously has led to numerous successes, including playing a part in the development of the work done by the Mindful Media Movement, artworks on the nature of artificial corporeality by Irma Besirevic, and several educational content initiatives online, including Pagemelts video on “being your own algorithm” and Sluggish’s Substack series on ADHD technology.
IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY has created a growing audience of learners, educators, and organisers returning to and re-using public resources. With an average of 15k monthly viewers, and growing recognition from high-profile organisations, IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY is making a difference.
Writing and publishing essays that break down design choices, algorithmic systems, and their everyday effects.
Creating public-facing explainers, video guides, and annotated resources that show how persuasive design works in practice.
Collaborating with educators, technologists, and creators to keep resources relevant and reflective of real-world challenges
Prioritising accessibility, context, and depth. Resources are made for saving, revisiting, and using, not just passing or scrolling past.
The next steps of IRRATIONAL TECHNOLOGY will focus on continuing the process of co-creation to ensure impact, and increasing collaboration with local initiatives, bringing in offline educational and reflective experiences through a series of planned workshops, exhibitions, and collaborations that will take place in-person. (Watch this space!)
This direction is key to expanding the project, and understanding how to create educational matarials that connect with people who may not engage with educational content online, as the scope being limited to people and communities who are already prepared to engage with this can limit the potential of the project
