
Will We Still See Ourselves in a World Designed by Machines?
Doug Shannon
Expert in Artificial Intelligence
Doug Shannon is an accomplished IT automation professional with over 20 years of experience in advanced technology roles. He excels at implementing strategic initiatives to enhance business functionality and possesses strong collaboration skills to lead diverse teams. Doug is a thought leader in digital transformation, utilizing his expertise in enterprise robotic process automation, AI, and agile project management to drive success. He has a proven track record in building self-healing automation processes and has been recognized as one of the top 50 intelligent automation leaders globally.
Latest posts by Doug Shannon (see all)
Expert in Artificial Intelligence
- Will We Still See Ourselves in a World Designed by Machines? - July 2, 2025
- We're Not Building AI to Think, We're Building It to Leave Us Behind - June 25, 2025
- The Real AI Battle Isn't Over Data...It's Over Identity - June 18, 2025
- The Silent Shift: From Apps to Agents, and Why You're Already in It - June 11, 2025
Tagged
Humans are innately pre-wired to see faces: it is called pareidolia. Our brains evolved to recognize patterns that hint at life and connection, even when none are truly there. We find faces in clouds, tree bark, the front of cars, and even the brake lights and trunk lids of the ones ahead of us.
Survival, instinct, and memory are layered together, like a silent blueprint we carry. It is not just what we see, it is what we hope to see, a reminder that we are not alone. Whether intentional or not, the human touch keeps bending design back toward familiarity, toward reflections of ourselves. You can see it in how a car’s headlights and grill seem to smile or frown, and how taillights look like wide, blinking eyes in the dark.
Even the coldest machines sometimes feel warm, simply because their shapes echo patterns we were born to recognize.
Yet something fundamental is shifting.
🔹AI is not pre-wired like we are.
🔹It does not search for faces in form.
🔹It does not feel the magnetic pull of familiarity when it shapes the world.
As AI moves from assisting design to leading it, we are stepping into a future shaped by different instincts.
Designs optimized for function, not for familiarity. Structures born from logic, not longing. Interfaces that no longer whisper back a familiar smile, but instead reflect pure, calculated purpose.
The question is not just how the future will look. It is how it will feel. Will we still see ourselves in the world around us, or will it slowly become a mirror for something else entirely?
We are entering a future where intelligent design may no longer be human design. When the faces disappear from the objects we build, will we realize how much of meaning was never in the object, and yet, always in us?
𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: The views within any of my posts or newsletters are not those of my employer or the employers of any contributing experts.