Artist, cultural critic and educator exploring human–nonhuman relationships, with work exhibited internationally (New York, Milan, Seoul), Rema Hort Mann Nominee and SXSW XR Official Selection.
Interaction Designer, and educator exploring design psychology, and human interaction. Shortlisted for the Red Dot Design Award and NYC Media Lab Featured Designer.
I recently had the chance to talk to two powerful creatives- Binna Lee and Jonah King, what started as a
20 minute conversation soon became two hours as we unfolded something much bigger: breaking the
boundaries of technologies and reimagining it through an authentic lens. We unravelled the
exploitations of dominant players in tech and the unnoticed patterns that we all have become a victim
of. As I listened back, I realized—this isn't just one discussion. Each theme we touched on deserves its own exploration.
5.1 The Algorithmic Self
5.2 The Tech Titans
5.3 The Dopamine Trap
5.4 Digital Time & Boundaries
Decoded is all about questioning the invisible contracts we've signed with our devices and
reclaiming our agency in how technology shapes our identity, culture, and community.
Listen to the introduction snippet below for a quick introduction and defining authenticity.
Introduction Transcript
[00:01:45] Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
[00:01:48] Yeah, I'm a, I teach faculty courses and I'm also an experienced designer focusing on interaction perspective with the psychological aspects and human interaction. My name is Jonah, I'm the Assistant Professor of Interactive Digital Media at the Stevens Institute in the Visual Art and Technology Department, and I'm a visual artist, and I work mostly in things like VR, new media, motion capture, like filmmaking, immersive installations and sculptures, and a lot of my work is about ways that our body relates to larger ecosystems and how those relate to clinical and social conditions.
[00:02:35] Well, I think it means to have as a teacher, I'm really into helping students find the things that they actually want to say that are actually important to them, as opposed to thinking about what they feel they should say, or do to please other people, you know, what's cool, or what's, you know, maybe having with solicit attention in ways that are inactive, they think that their expectations of other people.
[00:03:03] Yeah, I think it's a really important point of like identity, right? And like, how do we find out if we're being like genuine to who we are and what we want? And I think nowadays, a lot of people don't actually like, you know what, like, they don't know what it means to be genuine to themselves, because it's become like, so normal to just kind of take on the stereotype of society and what it does.
[00:03:27] And how do you think this, how do you think this is like, showing up in design?
