How active inference and the free energy principle transform our understanding of technology and design. Design for Entropy offers a bold rethinking of human technology relations by bringing active inference and the free energy principle-leading frameworks in neuroscience and cognitive science-into dialogue with design theory, as well as the sociology and psychology of technology. Active inference provides a powerful lens for understanding perception, planning, and action as forms of probabilistic inference. Luca Possati argues that any artifact-any technology-can be understood as a network of predictions and predictive models about human behavior and its environment. The active inference agent is, by definition, a technological agent-one whose survival and adaptation depend on the ability to construct, reshape, and inhabit a predictive niche. This perspective opens the door to a new approach for addressing foundational questions about design and the role of technology in social groups and the psychological dynamics of human-technology interaction. Through in-depth case studies-smartphones, adaptive robotics, and smart cities-the book introduces the Designer-Artifact-User (DAU) software model, an active inference-based tool for UX design. It also confronts psychological and social challenges, including digital addiction, depression, affective modulation, and the role of technology in mentalizing.
