Agency Among Agents: Designing with Hypertextual Friction in the Algorithmic Web
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866916875596726272 |
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| author | Liu, Sophia Almeda, Shm Garanganao |
| author_facet | Liu, Sophia Almeda, Shm Garanganao |
| contents | Today's algorithm-driven interfaces, from recommendation feeds to GenAI tools, often prioritize engagement and efficiency at the expense of user agency. As systems take on more decision-making, users have less control over what they see and how meaning or relationships between content are constructed. This paper introduces "Hypertextual Friction," a conceptual design stance that repositions classical hypertext principles--friction, traceability, and structure--as actionable values for reclaiming agency in algorithmically mediated environments. Through a comparative analysis of real-world interfaces--Wikipedia vs. Instagram Explore, and Are.na vs. GenAI image tools--we examine how different systems structure user experience, navigation, and authorship. We show that hypertext systems emphasize provenance, associative thinking, and user-driven meaning-making, while algorithmic systems tend to obscure process and flatten participation. We contribute: (1) a comparative analysis of how interface structures shape agency in user-driven versus agent-driven systems, and (2) a conceptual stance that offers hypertextual values as design commitments for reclaiming agency in an increasingly algorithmic web. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_23585 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Agency Among Agents: Designing with Hypertextual Friction in the Algorithmic Web Liu, Sophia Almeda, Shm Garanganao Human-Computer Interaction Artificial Intelligence Multimedia Social and Information Networks Today's algorithm-driven interfaces, from recommendation feeds to GenAI tools, often prioritize engagement and efficiency at the expense of user agency. As systems take on more decision-making, users have less control over what they see and how meaning or relationships between content are constructed. This paper introduces "Hypertextual Friction," a conceptual design stance that repositions classical hypertext principles--friction, traceability, and structure--as actionable values for reclaiming agency in algorithmically mediated environments. Through a comparative analysis of real-world interfaces--Wikipedia vs. Instagram Explore, and Are.na vs. GenAI image tools--we examine how different systems structure user experience, navigation, and authorship. We show that hypertext systems emphasize provenance, associative thinking, and user-driven meaning-making, while algorithmic systems tend to obscure process and flatten participation. We contribute: (1) a comparative analysis of how interface structures shape agency in user-driven versus agent-driven systems, and (2) a conceptual stance that offers hypertextual values as design commitments for reclaiming agency in an increasingly algorithmic web. |
| title | Agency Among Agents: Designing with Hypertextual Friction in the Algorithmic Web |
| topic | Human-Computer Interaction Artificial Intelligence Multimedia Social and Information Networks |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.23585 |