The Next Interface

A problem that dates back as early as the first years of our language evolution is how to store and keep track of information. Humanity has consistently developed new technologies and better ways to store and transfer information to the next generations or among themselves. First, there were stone tablets, then there was paper, and then came computers. What started as calculators evolved into knowledge storage machines like we had never seen before.

We access this knowledge by interacting with our PCs. On a low level, PCs are nothing more than a new and better way of interfacing with information. But, unsurprisingly, they are not the only new way, nor will they remain so. I don’t need to elaborate on books or any other older interfaces that connect us to information, but there is something else we are witnessing: the early days of artificial intelligence.

In its current stages, AI seems more like a new feature rather than a product in itself, let alone an alternative way to store information. But if you look closely, I think we can already see how it has begun to take over the way we interact with information. Personal assistants on our devices have been around for a while, but they were mostly useless until large language models (LLMs) came along. Apple has already introduced new Siri features that will operate as an agent in its own right, and within a year or two, LLMs will function as agents across all our devices. I believe this is just the beginning.

AI will be so integrated into apps and operating systems that we won’t even realize or think twice about it. It will be as intuitive to us as an OS is today. No one considers a phone capable of operating without an OS, and a few years from now, no one will think it can operate without AI.

This brings me to a key point: AI is not just an addition; it’s a competitor to the PCs we know today. We use PCs to search for information, connect with our friends, and engage with the world. I believe there will be many smaller computers throughout our living spaces to interact with AI, and through AI, we will search for information and connect with the world. The PCs, as we know them today, may eventually become obsolete.

Rick Rubin once said, “Technology always catches up with the art.” This reminds me a lot of Star Trek. Many of the technologies shown in that series were later created for real-world use, like tablets, touchscreens, and automatic doors. And then there’s the most intriguing interface of all: voice. In that imagined future, voice was the primary way to interact with computers, and perhaps that’s where we’re headed too.

I’m not suggesting we will abandon visual interfaces—I don’t think that’s biologically sustainable. More than 50% of our cortex is devoted to processing visual information. But I am suggesting that we might not be staring at screens as much. The hardware will evolve, but it will serve a new purpose—enabling smarter, more intuitive interactions with the world around us.