On the Machinable / Unmachinable Self

In this article in El Pais, Tracey explores how everyday life, including intimacy, identity, and lifestyle choices, is increasingly shaped by systems that reward what is legible, optimisable, and repeatable. She frames this shift through the distinction between the machinable self, the parts of us that can be measured, predicted, and standardised, and the unmachinable self, where meaning, interiority, intuition, and relational depth still reside.

Drawing on her Me:chine framework, she argues that contemporary life now unfolds at the interface between these two forces.