# The Future of Interfaces and Dignity By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-01-18 A seismic shift in how we interface with software applications is coming. Soon, clicking on things will seem as antiquated as the spinning dial on rotary phones. Keyboards and mice will eventually fade from existence. So, too, will the idea of touchscreens. While I suspect they'll last a bit longer as a backup interface, using fingers to get applications to do what you want will eventually be relegated to the hipster zone of putting on a vinyl record because the physical sound of the hiss is "richer." All these physical interfaces exist because the natural way we communicate with others (words, gestures, and tone) was simply technologically impossible. So, we had to create other interfaces and learn new skills like how to type and what the file menu does. While effective, it still requires us to change. Wouldn't it be better if technology conformed to us versus us conforming to it? With the recent advancements in AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), we finally have the opportunity to make this a reality. I would rather tell the application what I want to happen and have it interpret and execute the request. This is already playing out in many ways, but this is beyond the "Hey Siri," "Hey Google," and "Hey Alexa" paradigm that only works 50% of the time. Within the business world, I can speak to ChatGPT and have it generate a detailed topic summary and develop a thorough training strategy. I can also talk to these LLMs and have them generate detailed software code with only a few vague instructions. Essentially, the vagueness of human speech has been statistically decoded, and now it's just a matter of time before every single application interface is nothing more than a blank screen awaiting one's command and instructions. This has been forecasted for a long time within Sci-Fi circles, but they didn't go far enough as they almost always have someone sitting at a screen typing in something or tapping the controls. I suspect there will always be the need for someone to interface with something physically, but this will be increasingly reserved for the lesser classes or intentionally alternative subcultures. This is also nothing new. In the future, if one has to pick up a tool to fix an AI robot, one will indeed be in the lower class. Of course, humanity could change and rediscover solidarity. The question is whether the new interfaces with applications and machines bring us closer to rediscovering our humanity because it is how we naturally are or further into the new abyss of things over people. #### Related Items [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[Large Language Models]] [[Solidarity]] [[Class]] [[Technology]] [[Dignity]] [[Communication]] [[Future]] [[Society]]