sharanxThe app-less world and it's implications on the world of computing
Among the many things AI has enabled, it now has made it possible to think beyond building software applications. ___
Background
| I have [[2024-09-12-5-personal-ai-assistant-devices-reviewed#^1c44a7 | long believed]] that we are on the precipice of changing the fundamental way in which humans will interact with computers. Humans will soon be in a place where they can think in terms of the goals they want to achieve rather than thinking about the apps they need to string together in order to achieve the various pieces of it. The required technological pieces such as the [[2024-01-10-rabbit-r1-review#^a18b65 | LAM]] and [[2024-12-30-the-new-age-of-design#^5b3b30 | Just-in-Time Code]] being developed makes me believe that we are getting closer to this becoming real. There is still one big piece of the puzzle that is necessary which is the context of the user, but it’s only a matter of time and this will be achieved. |
Data
As of the writing of this article, the entities that have data about us are the large corporations that have spent years amassing it from our interactions in the digital sphere. They run very large data centres to store and process all this data to understand the user’s context and preferences. Hundreds and thousands of lines of code have been written to do this. So far it’s been employed to serve us ads or sell us stuff.
But we are now at a place where the hardware required for the user to be able to record this data about themselves is cheap enough that they could do this at their own homes. Open Source AI engines are also sophisticated and capable enough to replace the need for the many lines of code and instead be able to mine this data to understand the user’s preferences or to know what they said in the previous meeting whenever it is required.
Digital Twin
So, in theory, we can build a “digital twin” of a user that exists entirely in a computer that’s owned and controlled by them. This digital twin will be useful in so many ways. For instance, it can be examined to understand their preferred cuisine in order to order lunch or even to identify signs of depression if it comes to that. This digital twin is also available at all hours, so can represent the human in many digital spheres while the human is asleep.
AI Agents
AI agents are becoming more and more capable. They are able to search the web, make API calls, do calculations, make good decisions, write code, use computers and software applications and do it using multi-modal inputs and outputs.
Very quickly, this AI agent can learn to perform any tasks that the human may perform. The user will begin to speak to their agents in terms of the goals they want to achieve and leave it to the agent to figure out the plan and break it down into tasks that will help achieve that goal. The agent will operate software applications in oder to achieve these tasks. The human will use it to interact with and execute everything certainly in the digital sphere, but maybe some things in the physical world too (taxi hailing, ordering food or products, etc.)
These agents can also filter their actions through the Digital Twin in order to make choices and decisions just as the user would.
Implications
Firstly, the AI agent becomes the universal interface for the user. This may happen gradually at first, but there is a real possibility that this becomes indispensable soon.
Secondly, if the agent is capable of writing code as required to perform a task, software as we know it will not be necessary anymore.
Thirdly, if the primary user of websites and applications is the AI agent, they will cease to exist in their current form and become far more like API’s. Future app-stores will be selling specialised data bundles or algorithms that will help analyse the user’s own data in novel ways.
Fourthly, with the human interacting more with the agent than with computers or phones, this may reduce their dependence on technology. We may finally settle on computing form factors such as the smart watch in the future.