The Interface is Watching You
- Dan
- May 22
- 2 min read
Is your interface watching you? Today's guest blogger, Sukanya Basu Mallik explores this question in Extended Reality.
The interface flickered. Again.
Tara had trained herself not to blink when it did that—not in this world. She was inside a guided XR meditation, somewhere between a synthetic beach and a Sanskrit chant looped with AI-calibrated brainwaves. But then came the anomaly: a voice that wasn’t part of the program.
“Hello again, Tara.”
Not her name. Not this version. Not this simulation.
The environment pixelated for a second, like it was trying to decide whether to load a memory or a trap. Her pulse spiked. Had someone hijacked the feed? Had she?
Because in Extended Reality, you never know if you’re experiencing the future—or recovering from it.
That’s almost how one of the chapters in my book Extended Reality begins. And honestly, that’s how many of my real days feel too.
As a filmmaker and PhD scholar researching the emotional and intercultural effects of virtual reality, I spend most of my time in simulated zones—some academic, some artistic, and some deeply personal. My research at IIT Madras explores how virtual environments can reshape belonging, adaptation, and emotional resilience—particularly for people navigating displacement, identity crisis, or trauma.
But storytelling has always been where I translate that data into emotion.
Extended Reality is my love letter to the blurring boundaries between self and system. It’s a speculative collection of flash fiction and short narratives inspired by real VR experiences, immersive art sessions I’ve led, and the unsettling moments when avatars glitch just enough to feel alive.
One story was born from my work with international students undergoing VR art therapy. Another unfolded after a long night editing a film, when I caught my own digital reflection looking back just a fraction of a second too late.
These stories aren’t set in some far-off sci-fi galaxy. They’re rooted in the uncanny now—the moments when your devices know you better than you’d like, and your choices feel... prewritten.
We live in layers: one skin, multiple selves. Extended Reality is my way of peeling those layers back.
If you’re someone who thrives in the liminal spaces—between genres, borders, screens, and selves—I’d love for you to step into these stories.
The book is available on
And at select indie bookstores near you.
Because in XR, the future doesn’t wait for your permission.
It renders you in real time.
Author Bio
Sukanya Basu Mallik is an award-winning author, XR researcher, and filmmaker from Kolkata, India. Currently a PhD scholar at the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, her research explores the use of virtual reality in art therapy and cross-cultural adaptation. Her work has been featured in Reader’s Digest, Sahitya Akademi, Times of India, and at international film festivals including Lift-Off and Rameshwaram. She blends scientific inquiry with poetic storytelling, using speculative fiction to explore identity, emotion, and emerging technology. Her latest book, Extended Reality, is a speculative fiction collection now available on Amazon and Flipkart.
More at: Instagram @Sukanyaspen
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