By: Omar JW Heuves
Part of State of Responsible Tech 2025, Generative Things
Heuves, O. (2025). The effect of Things on our everyday rituals. In RIOT 2025, State of Responsible Tech – Generative Things (pp. 20-23). Stichting ThingsCon Amsterdam
https://thingscon.org/publications/riot-2025/riot-2025-the-effect-of-things-on-our-everyday-rituals/
Abstract (generated):
This essay examines how everyday technologies—ranging from coffee machines to embroidery tools and generative AI—shape, erode, or transform the rituals embedded in daily life. Drawing from social practice theory and ritual studies, the author distinguishes between routines, practices, and rituals, arguing that technological efficiency often supplants the experiential depth that gives practices personal and cultural meaning. Through historical examples of domestic coffee-making and embroidery, the paper illustrates how automation shifts agency away from users, diminishing opportunities for embodied engagement and ritual formation. The discussion culminates in a critical reflection on generative AI as a hyper-efficient medium that bypasses human competencies and materially detaches users from creative processes. While generative systems offer utility, they also risk undermining the affective and meaning-making aspects of daily life. The author advocates for an intentional engagement with AI as material—not just as tool or output generator—to preserve the relational and reflective potential of rituals. This inquiry contributes to emerging debates on the sociocultural impact of automation by reasserting the value of slowness, skill, and presence in design for everyday life.