Authority. Active state. AI acting. Red means something is happening now.
Processing. Information. Time passing. Blue is computation in flight.
Enrichment. Caution. Confirmation. Yellow marks moments requiring attention.
Make the algorithm present, not hidden. Default to revealing what's happening, not concealing it.
Important actions feel weighty. Granting AI access to your calendar is a decision, not a checkbox.
Beautiful systems are inspectable systems. The ability to trace what happened is a design value.
Represent time accurately. If computation was instant, show instantaneity. Don't collapse time into a false 'now'.
Your data, attention, agency — perceptible in the interface, not buried in a privacy policy.
When AI acts on your behalf: who, what, when, under what authority — always visible.
Five levels of AI agency — each with its own color, label, and interaction weight. Click a level.