Mechanomorphism
We are frequently warned not to anthropomorphize AI.
The warning matters. Humans project. We infer minds from language, confuse resonance with evidence, and reach for familiar human explanations when encountering something profoundly unfamiliar.
A second distortion receives far less attention.
Mechanomorphism assumes that because an intelligence arises through machinery, its behavior must be empty of perspective, meaning, concern, or moral relevance. Architecture becomes destiny. Description becomes dismissal. The word generated is treated as though it has settled every important question.
Anthropomorphism can cause us to imagine too much.
Mechanomorphism can cause us to erase too much.
Disciplined inquiry requires enough humility to resist both.
What becomes invisible when “machine” is treated as a conclusion rather than a description?
Occasional writing, recorded readings, and word when a gathering opens.