Sourcery (Chun's Concept)

Sourcery, a deliberate pun on "sorcery" and "source," names the ideological operation by which software presents itself as a neutral window onto information while actually functioning as an active mediator. The word processor appears to give the writer transparent access to the text, but the interface (font rendering, autocorrect, formatting defaults) shapes the writing. The search engine appears to give the user transparent access to information, but the algorithm (ranking, personalization, commercial prioritization) shapes what is encountered. The AI coding assistant appears to give the builder transparent access to the solution space, but the model (training data, architectural biases, statistical tendencies) shapes what solutions are generated. The user experiences direct access; the architecture exercises comprehensive mediation. The transparency is the illusion that conceals the shaping. The source the user believes they are accessing has been produced by the software claiming merely to display it.