Human agency
How can intelligent systems strengthen human judgement without quietly replacing it?
James Harris · Independent technologist · Reading, UK
Technology,
people,
systems.
An independent programme of technical practice and academic inquiry into how artificial intelligence changes the way people think, organise and act.
01 / Research agenda
Not “what can AI do?”
What should it do for us?
Context
What changes when an assistant understands a life as a connected system rather than a sequence of isolated prompts?
Application
How should technical capability be translated into tools that support human flourishing, not only efficiency?
The work begins from a practical position: build the system, observe its behaviour, then ask what kind of human relationship it creates.
02 / Primary inquiry · In development
JamesOS
becomes Art.
ARTunified assistant
Voice
Context
Calendar
Models
Automations
Data
Working thesis
A useful personal AI should not be a more demanding productivity machine. It should preserve context, clarify priorities and help its user make considered decisions across the connected parts of a life.
MethodsAI-assisted developmentAPI integrationAutomationVoice interfacesIterative prototyping
03 / Selected practice
Ideas tested
through making.
Across digital products, consumer systems and physical construction, each project starts with an observed friction and advances through direct experimentation.
VLNT
Behavioural object / apparel system
A minimalist apparel concept built around “I’m trying”: a quiet prompt intended to support behaviour without adopting conventional mental-health messaging.
Tipsy Panda
Direct-to-consumer service design
A complete cocktail-kit system designed to remove the friction between interest and action: ingredients, instructions and craft knowledge assembled as one experience.
Mobile workspace
Camper van conversion / ongoing
A substantially complete self-built conversion exploring how irregular space, power, heat, material reuse and digital work can become one mobile system.
Garage to office
Adaptive reuse / built project
The conversion of an unfinished domestic garage into a functioning office through structure, insulation, electrical work, lighting, cabinetry and a kitchenette.
6–8diagnostic jobs / day
04 / Technical fieldwork · 2023–2026
Fault finding as
applied research.
Across Openreach copper infrastructure and dedicated fibre networks, James worked from customer premises through cabinets, signalling equipment and exchange-side systems to locate the real source of a fault.
Observe the symptoms. Trace the system. Test assumptions. Communicate the resolution.
Complex and previously unresolved faults across the full network path.
Practical experience across both legacy copper and modern fibre architectures.
Supporting trainees, fellow engineers and non-technical customers.
05 / Methods and capabilities
A practice that crosses
code, networks and matter.
Technical range is treated as a research method: understanding systems by encountering them at different scales.
AI systems
Model orchestration · voice agents · chatbots · prompt systems · rapid prototyping
Digital systems
APIs · n8n · Make · web scraping · basic HTML · GitHub · databases
Network diagnosis
Copper · fibre · DSLAMs · PCPs · signalling · exchange infrastructure
Physical making
Construction · electrical systems · furniture · material reuse · practical design
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexityn8nMakeWordPressShopifyGitHub
Independent studyCS
×
PHIL
×
PHIL
06 / Academic direction
From practical systems
to first principles.
James is preparing for university study in Computer Science and Philosophy. The aim is to connect technical foundations with deeper questions about intelligence, agency, responsibility and the social consequences of digital systems.
Artificial intelligencePhilosophy of technologyHuman-computer interactionSystems thinkingTechnology and society