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Thoughtless user interfaces can drive you mad. A simple task – editing photos, for example – becomes a problem when I'm overwhelmed by navigation bars and pointless pop-ups. I might turn to a help window and (sigh) find myself telling my color correction problem to a glorified FAQ. Only one thing is clear – the software has no idea what I want.
But AI is changing that—or at least it should. As the CEO and co-founder of an AI-powered customer service platform, I've thought a lot about this problem. And I think we're still building software for the past, rather than redesigning it for the future. We still think of our devices as mindless machines—a car you have to get in, buckle up, and drive. Almost overnight, that dynamic has changed.
We no longer drive a car – we saddle a living, breathing horse with a will of its own – and it is ready to ride.
Related: I teach AI and entrepreneurship, how entrepreneurs can use AI to better understand their target customers.
Further development of interfaces
Every advancement in computing brings a paradigm shift in the user experience. The birth of personal computers ushered in the graphical user interface (all those folders and icons you click on with your mouse). Mobile phones ushered in multi-touch techniques and app-centric home screens.
AI will shake things up again. But how? Will it lead to voice-based interfaces where we simply talk to our computers? To spatial awareness where software integrates with our environment through augmented reality? Will it get stuck at spontaneous writing where we simply fill in our fields to generate what we want? The debate has only just begun.
But I do know one thing: the best software of the future will support two intelligences (yours and the AI's). Its core function will be to enable real back and forth – a collaboration between two minds, each with its own strengths and limitations. And it will hardly resemble the software applications we know and use today.
Most software so far responds to your commands but has no ideas of its own. This design paradigm assumes that you are the expert and the software is just a means of conveying your expertise. It makes the annoying assumption that the user knows what they are doing. I think this is outdated and needs to change.
AI-native software is fundamentally different, and in ways that are stranger and more powerful than we imagined. I'm not talking about “co-pilots” here – the ubiquitous assistants that have emerged, powered by AI to whisper advice to you like a grandson of Clippy. I'm talking about real employees that anticipate your goals and move you forward in a tailored way. Ethan Mollick, a professor at Wharton University, has called this “co-intelligence.”
The future Mollick envisions could produce a user experience that is radically different for each of us. Just as people have basic personalities and then emphasize different aspects depending on the person, AI-native software will have a basic design but adapt itself to the user's needs. In its most advanced form, it will literally create a new user interface on the fly based on your story and goals.
Think of this personalized interface as your own custom-made saddle. As any rider will tell you, riding is a relationship between two minds, and that should be the goal of an AI interface. Your input is important, of course. But equally important is the energy and intellect of the platform. An ideal interface enables the most subtle communication between horse (the AI) and rider (you). It allows the AI to respond to your style, anticipate what you want, and ultimately take you where you need to go.
Related: You can fear it and still use it – Why do so many American workers shy away from AI?
A little insight into the Two-Intelligence design
This is what our experience with computers should feel like when we sit in the saddle of an artificial intelligence:
First of all, input options will go beyond clicking and tapping. AIs will see what's on the screen, hear what you say, and track where your eyes are focused to better understand what you're trying to do. In my industry – customer service – this change will massively simplify the experience. A lot of time and energy is wasted when customers have to explain what's happening on their screen (login errors, order issues, etc.). Imagine if all of these issues were handled instantly by an AI agent.
At the same time, AI will mine user information to understand your skill level, preferences and goals. This data will be used to create a new interface for each user. Tailored landing pages and recommendation algorithms were just the beginning. In the future, facial recognition technology could monitor your expressions and trigger additional help when you're frustrated or slacking off when work is going well.
In the meantime, the term “user” itself will blur, making more room for non-human entities. People who use ChatGPT are already used to having an Avengers-style team of helpers at their beck and call (called GPTs), each with an avatar like any other remote worker. In the future, Salesforce, WhatsApp, and all sorts of platforms will host AI agents right alongside humans—to the point where we'll treat them as friends as well as colleagues.
To reduce our cognitive load, it would make sense to explicitly personify some of these AI assistants and agents: Devin, marketed as the world's first AI software developer, has his own online workspace and chat window, for example. And in other cases where human input is less important, they may work in the background.
This invisible work will also mean that there will be far fewer tools and toolbars in the software that people interact with. What we care about is the end product, not the opportunity to slav away. User interfaces will become simpler and leaner – places where you look through and learn from finished work rather than doing the work yourself. In fact, venture capitalists are seeing AI startups focus on selling finished work rather than software.
And as AI takes what it needs from apps and curates material for users, there will be even fewer reasons to use the most basic tools of our digital lives – the apps on our phones and tablets. Soon, the app-based home screens on your phone may need a redesign.
No one can imagine the future perfectly. But I do know that to get the AI revolution right, you have to design user interfaces with all of these components in mind. It's a “riding moment.” Your intentions and those of the AI work in tandem. And that's made possible by a user interface that makes room for all the benefits a second intelligence can bring. Let's go!
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