Abstract
Human–machine symbiosis has re-emerged in HCI as a promising framework for designing sustained partnerships between humans and machines. While prior work has focused on individual ability, agency, and experience—namely embodiment-centric factors—this paper argues that symbiosis takes shape within entanglement. Through a series of design experiments and student projects, we illustrate how ecological residuals—such as friction, adaptation, and asymmetry—can serve as productive design materials. Our proposed framework synthesizes existing approaches, extending the scope of symbiosis in HCI from bodily integration toward socio-technical interdependence. By situating design configurations not as fixed endpoints but as sites of relational conditioning, this paper refigures human– technology symbiosis as a design lens for tracing ecological emergence beyond individual augmentation.
Keywords
Human-technology symbiosis; Entanglement-oriented design; Biological analogy of symbiosis; Human-computer interaction
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.82
Citation
Leigh, S.(2025) From Embodiment to Entanglement: Refiguring Symbiosis in Human–Computer Interaction, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.82
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 1 - More Than Human-centered Design
From Embodiment to Entanglement: Refiguring Symbiosis in Human–Computer Interaction
Human–machine symbiosis has re-emerged in HCI as a promising framework for designing sustained partnerships between humans and machines. While prior work has focused on individual ability, agency, and experience—namely embodiment-centric factors—this paper argues that symbiosis takes shape within entanglement. Through a series of design experiments and student projects, we illustrate how ecological residuals—such as friction, adaptation, and asymmetry—can serve as productive design materials. Our proposed framework synthesizes existing approaches, extending the scope of symbiosis in HCI from bodily integration toward socio-technical interdependence. By situating design configurations not as fixed endpoints but as sites of relational conditioning, this paper refigures human– technology symbiosis as a design lens for tracing ecological emergence beyond individual augmentation.