Date

6-17-2026

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design (MFA)

Chair

David Meyer

Disciplines

Art and Design

Abstract

Algorithms have become intertwined with everyday life, infiltrating both personal and social environments. They have transformed from influenceable tools useful for customizing information to machines of influence that are now dictating standards. These machines have begun morphing individuals idea of the self. This has become an epidemic of lost identity and fragmented self in order to conform to algorithmic acceptance. Emerging professionals in creative fields in the last decade have become particularly susceptible to this influence. If not addressed, young creatives will soon lose any autonomy of self and have a homogenized identity that matches the demands of the algorithm machine. Through research of philosophical frameworks of the self, it is seen how to build a foundational understanding of what the self is and how it can be better understood. By researching the development of algorithms and the impact on young creatives in the last decade, there is an prominent theme of fragmented and lost identity in relation to view of self due to pressures of algorithmic acceptance. A study of art forms that lend themself to introspection and reflection serve as a guide towards a solution of how to combat the algorithm and find the authentic self as an act of rebellion.

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