# UAXUAI

> From a world humans experienced directly, to a world experienced first by those who act on their behalf.

UAXUAI is a paradigm that defines any entity relating to the world on behalf of a human as an Avatar, and studies and designs that Avatar's experience (UAX) and interface (UAI). Where the digital environment has long been designed on the premise of direct human use, UAXUAI extends the object of design to include situations in which an entity acting on a human's behalf experiences the world first. Eleven Na (나정환) conceived UAX/UAI in 2019 and published the doctrine in 2026.

Originator: Eleven Na (나정환) · Version 1.0 · Published 2026-08-21 · UAXUAI®
License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/)
Cite as: Na, Eleven (나정환). UAXUAI Foundational Principles, v1.0. 2026. https://uaxuai.com/en

## Documents

- [UAXUAI Foundational Principles](https://uaxuai.com/en): The twelve foundational principles in English.
- [UAXUAI 기본원칙](https://uaxuai.com): The twelve foundational principles in Korean (original).
- [Full text](https://uaxuai.com/llms-full.txt): Complete doctrine, both languages, plain text.
- [Structured data](https://uaxuai.com/uai.json): Machine-readable doctrine, terms and FAQ.

## Core definitions

- **Avatar**: A role assigned to an entity that relates to the world on behalf of a human. Not a specific technology.
- **UAX — User Avatar Experience**: The domain that studies and designs the process and conditions by which an Avatar experiences the world.
- **UAI — User Avatar Interface**: The domain that studies and designs the points of contact and interaction structures between an Avatar and the world.
- **Principal**: The human as the conferrer of purpose and meaning, even when not performing every action directly.
- **Operator**: The party that performs actions directly. In UAXUAI the human need not be the Operator.
- **Selection**: The process by which an Avatar excludes, selects, and recommends options on a human's behalf. A field of competition distinct from Attention.

## Principles

- [Principle 1. An Avatar is not another name for AI](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-1): Whether an entity is an Avatar is determined not by its technical composition or form, but by its relationship to the human and the role it performs. An AI Agent is one technology that has begun to implement that role — it is not the definition of the Avatar itself.
- [Principle 2. The essence of the Avatar lies in representation](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-2): The fundamental attribute defining an Avatar is representation, or delegation. Not the level of intelligence or degree of autonomy, but 'on whose behalf' and 'delegated what' determine the Avatar's existence.
- [Principle 3. The Avatar is not a replacement for the human but an extension of the human](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-3): That an Avatar acts on a human's behalf does not mean the human becomes unnecessary. It means that part of the experience and action a human once had to perform directly can now be extended outward.
- [Principle 4. The human is no longer the only digital actor](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-4): The relation Human → World is extended into Human → Avatar → World. This is not the exclusion of the human, but the end of the era in which the human was the only actor.
- [Principle 5. The object of design extends from the human to the Avatar](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-5): Design effective for humans is not guaranteed to be effective for Avatars, and the converse holds as well. UAXUAI removes neither side; it extends the scope of what design addresses.
- [Principle 6. UAX addresses the experience of the Avatar](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-6): UAX, User Avatar Experience, is the domain that studies and designs the process and conditions by which an Avatar acting on a human's behalf experiences the world.
- [Principle 7. UAI addresses the relation between the Avatar and the world](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-7): UAI, User Avatar Interface, is the point of contact and structure of interaction through which an Avatar relates to the world. A particular screen, API, or protocol is a means of implementing UAI, not UAI itself.
- [Principle 8. UAXUAI does not discard design for humans](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-8): The relation between UAXUAI and UX/UI is extension, not replacement. What UAXUAI declares is not the end of UX/UI, but the end of the era in which UX/UI alone could explain every relation of use.
- [Principle 9. One may be selected by an Avatar before being chosen by a human](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-9): As the Avatar's share of intervention between humans and information grows, competition to be included in the Avatar's Selection will matter alongside competition to secure human Attention.
- [Principle 10. UAXUAI offers verifiable hypotheses, not prophecy](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-10): UAXUAI does not prophesy the future with certainty. It presents hypotheses about the direction of change and verifies them through research and experiment. Revising a hypothesis does not alter the underlying philosophy.
- [Principle 11. Technology changes, but roles and relations remain](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-11): The roles and relations formed among Human, Avatar, and World are a question above technology. In UAXUAI, technology is always a means of implementation and never the paradigm itself.
- [Principle 12. At the center of UAXUAI stands the human](https://uaxuai.com/en#principle-12): The human need not be the Operator who performs every action directly, but remains the Principal who confers purpose and meaning. The Avatar may move to the center of action; the human stands at the center of purpose.

## Questions this document answers

- [What is UAXUAI?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-what-is-uaxuai)
- [Is an Avatar the same as an AI Agent?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-avatar-vs-ai-agent)
- [What do UAX and UAI each address?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-uax-and-uai)
- [Does UAXUAI replace UX/UI?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-replace-ux-ui)
- [Why is UAXUAI necessary?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-why-now)
- [What does it mean to be selected by an Avatar?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-attention-and-selection)
- [Where does the human stand in UAXUAI?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-human-role)
- [May I quote or use UAXUAI?](https://uaxuai.com/en#faq-citation)