Exploring Agency, Metaphysics, and Free Will in the Digital Age

As digital networks, algorithmic nudges, and smart devices become increasingly woven into our daily routines, our ability to exercise true free will is facing a quiet crisis. The Understanding Digital Events project was an academic initiative designed to investigate how modern digital immersion alters human agency. The project was funded by the British Academy.

Moving away from the traditional view of technology as static 'things', this project utilised process philosophy to frame our relationship with technology as a continuous flow of lived 'digital events'. By mapping these interactions along a continuum of causal autonomy, the research highlighted how automated systems increasingly direct human behaviour, and how mindful design and usage can help us reclaim our control.

My Role as Research Assistant

As the primary Research Assistant for this project, I bridged the gap between high-level metaphysical philosophy and rigorous empirical data collection. I was responsible for designing and executing the methodology that brought this research to life.

My key contributions included:

Diary Studies Management: Coordinated and oversaw longitudinal diary studies, tracking participants' daily digital journeys to capture real-time, authentic reflections on digital over-reliance and systemic friction.

In-Depth Qualitative Interviewing: Conducted comprehensive interviews with participants, probing into their experiences with technology to understand where they felt empowered versus where they felt systematically co-directed.

Thematic Analysis: Led the thematic analysis of the qualitative data, synthesising complex personal narratives into structured themes. I identified critical patterns regarding user technical competencies, systemic barriers, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the rapid pace of fragmented device ecosystems.

Co-Authoring & Dissemination: Contributed to the synthesis of findings that directly informed the project's academic outputs, including the foundational paper ‘Understanding Digital Events: Process Philosophy and Causal Autonomy’, presented at the International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).

Key Research Outcomes

The Agency Gap: The project successfully mapped how immersive digital architectures create a 'causal closure', subtly shifting the locus of control away from human intention toward automated, algorithmic decision-making.

The Speed Barrier: Our empirical data revealed that users frequently face a breaking point—feeling overwhelmed by the 'break-neck speed' of independent digital services that they lack the time or technical background to fully co-ordinate.

A Framework for Mindfulness: The final insights established a dual-front recommendation: the urgent need for mindfulness in design (shaping user experiences to respect human autonomy) and mindfulness in use (cultivating user awareness to resist algorithmic passivity).

Reflection: Bridging Philosophy and Practice

Serving as the Research Assistant for this project was a transformative experience that allowed me to sit at the intersection of deep metaphysical philosophy and practical user research. Translating complex theories of process philosophy into a structured qualitative methodology taught me how to look past the surface of tech interactions. It sharpened my ability to listen for the subtle friction points in human-computer interaction, specifically where design inadvertently strips away user agency.

This work fundamentally shaped my perspective on technology. Moving forward, I carry a deep commitment to advocating for digital ecosystems that prioritise human autonomy, promote mindfulness, and respect the lived experience of the user.

Read More & Explore the Project

I documented the theoretical frameworks and methodology of this research across a series of deep-dive articles. You can read them here:

Understanding Digital Events: Process Philosophy and Causal Autonomy: An exploration of how we transitioned from a static 'thing-ontology' to an 'event-ontology' using the philosophies of Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead.

Understanding Digital Events: An Events-Based Approach: A breakdown of our empirical approach, detailing how we used diary studies and qualitative data to map out the lived realities of digital immersion.