The Other Stuff with internetVin The Other Stuff #05 — Tarun Sachdeva
Aug 6, 2025
Tarun Sachdeva, a designer and writer known for his insights on software and media, delves into the metaphoric connection between plastic and software design. He highlights how screens are meant to evolve and discusses the societal impacts of technology, particularly AI's role in shaping human experiences. The conversation explores how creative tools influence writing processes and the future of AI in gaming and education. Tarun envisions AI as a transformative layer in our lives, enhancing creativity while navigating its ethical implications.
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Screens Are Designed To Change
- Screens are a medium designed to change and so their core affordance is motion and mutability.
- Tarun argues that design must match what screens want with what humans want to avoid technology that happens to you.
Imitation Is The First Step For New Media
- New media first imitates existing objects to teach users its affordances.
- Only after imitation does the medium enable creations native to its properties.
Plastic As A Precedent For Software
- Plastics removed scarcity tied to natural growth and unlocked mass production of many objects.
- Tarun uses plastics as an analogy for how software can 'eat the world' by changing production constraints.