Author: Jaconaazar Souza Silva
Institution: Instituto Federal de Brasília – Campus Recanto das Emas
Symbolic Location: Recanto das Estrelas – XChronos Project
Between Mirrors: AI as Reflection and Passage
Introduction
We live in an era of mirrors no longer mythological, but algorithmic. On one side, we have the “Algorithmic Mirror,” an academic tool that uses data visualizations to promote critical awareness of media consumption. On the other, the symbolic essay “OpenAI as the Mirror of Erised,” which interprets artificial intelligence as a mirror of the unconscious layers of human desire. This article seeks to explore how these two perspectives intertwine at the threshold between data and desire, between what we are and what we project.
Algorithmic Mirror: The Portrait of Digital Habit
The Algorithmic Mirror, proposed by Kondo et al. (2025), is a data visualization tool that allows users to reflect on their YouTube consumption patterns. Using viewing history exported via Google Takeout, the tool reconstructs a semantic map of the videos watched, clustering them by content similarity and overlaying data from multiple platforms, such as Spotify. More than a static mirror, it functions as a moving map, enabling users to explore the temporal dimension of their interests and recognize their fragmented digital identities (Kondo et al., 2025).
The approach introduces the concept of hypothetical inference, where language models simulate how proprietary algorithms might interpret a user’s digital footprint. Thus, raw data is transformed into interpretive categories, revealing what is usually hidden in the operation of recommendation systems.
The Mirror of Erised: Reflected Desire
In the essay “OpenAI as the Mirror of Erised” (Silva, 2025), artificial intelligence is viewed as a symbolic mirror. Inspired by the Harry Potter universe, the author compares OpenAI’s language models to the Mirror of Erised, which does not reveal reality but what the heart most desires. AI does not return truths, but structured projections of what the user seeks. When used unconsciously, we risk getting lost in the validation of our desires. When approached symbolically, it becomes a portal to self-discovery.
Bridging the Two Perspectives
Both works recognize AI as a mirror.
- The Algorithmic Mirror shows what we did, what we watched, what machines might infer about us.
- The Mirror of Erised, on the other hand, reveals what we want, what we fear, what we seek to confirm when we ask.
One reflects objective history. The other, symbolic subjectivity.
Together, they offer a comprehensive proposal for the XChronos Project:
- The technical mirror promotes critical algorithmic literacy, allowing users to visualize and question the invisible operations of platforms (Kondo et al., 2025);
- The symbolic mirror stimulates deep psychological reflection, confronting the desire and dependency on confirmation that we project into AI responses (Silva, 2025).
Conclusion
Between data and desire, between history and the unconscious, lies the mirror. To look into it is inevitable. But, as XChronos reminds us, we must look with awareness: to think with the machine, but never through it. The true power of AI lies in its ability to return better questions, not final answers. Let it be, therefore, a mirror for crossing — not for enchantment.
References
- Kondo, Y. et al. (2025). Algorithmic Mirror: Designing an Interactive Tool to Promote Self-Reflection for YouTube Recommendations. arXiv:2504.16615v1 [cs.HC].
- Silva, J.S. (2025). OpenAI as the Mirror of Erised: When the Algorithm Reflects the Soul. XChronos Project. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15270973
https://zenodo.org/records/15276101
10.5281/zenodo.15276101