The future of UI
Read Time: 2 min
I have been thinking about the future of our UI and UX world a lot these past months.
How we use computers will change as AI becomes more usable through natural language.
The point-and-click UIs we use right now might soon be replaced entirely.
It's great to notice such changes early so we can prepare for them.
Especially when they're so pervasive, like how we interact with computers.
A short history of user interfaces
Let's quickly look at how we got to the user interfaces we use today.
First, computers were programmed through dials and, a bit later, using stamp cards.
This wasn't accessible to many people, and intensive training was necessary.
They were also inaccessible because these computers were as big as a room back then.
Then, someone invented displays, and the command line was born as a text-only input and output.
At this time, computers became small enough to be present in personal homes.
But, the command line as an interface was still inaccessible to many people.
You need to remember too many commands for that.
Computers became popular for a larger audience when we invented the desktop environment.
The desktop is what we still use today: point-and-click.
It needs this special input device called a mouse, which is precise but has limited input capabilities.
The future of user interfaces
All these interfaces were excellent in their time, but none of them was what we wanted.
We want to communicate with computers just as we do with humans, using natural language.
This input method is finally available with today's generative LLM AIs.
I can ask ChatGPT and get a more elaborate and better-researched answer than most articles on the web.
Yes, ChatGPT dreams sometimes, and your input's quality defines the output's quality.
But this problem becomes smaller and smaller every day.
You have the same problem with humans.
If you can't adequately express what you want, you won't get the reaction from others you need.
I predict that the UI of the not-so-far future will degenerate into simple chat windows.
It is not so different from the command line interfaces of our past.
But with the distinct difference, you no longer need to remember hundreds of commands.
There are two types of interactions with computers:
Information input
And information retrieval
Both can be done more efficiently, faster and with less training in natural language.
For all of you screaming at me that this is only for tech-savvy users, please think for a moment.
Most computer users today use only a browser on their computer.
In their browser, they type what they need into the URL bar, which sends the query to their default search engine.
Most users already use natural language as their primary input modality today.
Why should we build fancy point-and-click interfaces if we only need a chat?
This change in user experience will empower more people in the future.
After all, articulating ourselves is the only skill we need to learn to use an AI interface.
Which is a skill we should be capable of already.
We don't need to spend days training people in specialized software.
We can focus entirely on teaching them how to improve their communication.
Which again can be done by an AI agent.
This leaves us with more time for the creative work that truly improves our lives and the lives of those around us.
A win-win situation.
As an attentive reader, you might have noticed that I didn't specify how this natural language is fed into the computer.
Keyboard input is the first thought that comes to mind, but it could also be voice input.
For most users, voice input is faster than keyboard input.
For those who type faster than they speak, neuronal input might be the next upgrade.
Only having to think about what you want to do removes some layers of abstraction over typing.
I'm getting excited when thinking about it.
The big takeaway from this article is:
Learn to communicate and articulate yourself better.
That's the most valuable skill you can learn this year to become AI-proof.
What do you think about this vision of the future of UI?
Tell me on LinkedIn.
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Thanks for reading to the end!
You rock!
Cheers,
Marcel