looking is not innocent. what is measured changes because it is measured.
the unsettling result of the double-slit experiment is simple: measurement changes the observed behavior. the gaze never remains outside the system.
the same law operates in interfaces. a user who feels watched does not behave naturally; every behavior turned into a metric bends. whatever i choose to measure, i have tilted the product in that direction. measurement is not neutral; it is a choice — and i try to make that choice on the user's behalf, not against them.
assume an observer while writing code, while writing words, even while living. i write clean code because i know someone will read it; even the possibility of a gaze corrects behavior. you cannot erase the observer — but you can choose which observer you live by.