CATS IN THE MATRIX. Reframing glitches as design insights

The omnipresence of technology in everyday life fosters a techno-positive narrative, praising its pervasiveness, intelligence, and integration in social systems. However, this view overlooks the inherent vulnerabilities of the so-called Technosphere, the global interconnected system of technologies that constrains human behavior and reshapes ecological and geological paradigms. This chapter presents Cats in the Matrix, an experimental archive developed to question the increasingly central role of technology in human activities and social interaction. Glitches – categorized as bugs, hacks, human errors, political decisions, and environmental disruptions – serve as warnings of systemic vulnerabilities, revealing the unpredictable consequences of technological reliance. By collecting them, the project offers a platform for finding unexpected design opportunities, reframing failure as a critical lens for anticipating, mitigating, and adapting to the vulnerabilities of the Technosphere.