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Editor’s note: From getting attention to taking it back, AI is putting an end to the “screen tax.” The best part of a good product is that you can implicitly use it and move on. This article has been edited.
Software for the past decade has been all about attention. The software of the next decade will aim to regain user attention.
There’s an undercurrent among Silicon Valley’s top developers right now. Everyone is starting to pursue simpler experiences that are closer to the analog era. However, these products are more powerful than ever.
Take ChatGPT, for example, which is one of the fastest growing consumer products in history. But what in essence? Just a blank box and a cursor. Its interface is mostly empty. But the underlying power is one of the greatest advances in computing we’ve ever seen.
The deeper we look into AI, the more extreme this pattern becomes. AI agents can make calls, set appointments, and negotiate, but you’ll never see them move a cursor or fill out a form. Their abilities are completely invisible. So to understand what they can actually do, you have to give them personalities like Claude, Devin, and Alice.
The hardware field is also moving in this direction. OpenAI is reportedly developing a pocket-sized consumer device with context-aware capabilities and possibly no screen.
The philosophy of evaluating good products is changing. When we say that the next wave of startups will abandon screens completely, we don’t mean that literally (although that may actually happen). Rather, it means moving towards products that have the “magic” that users can set up and move on. This kind of software is implicitly understandable and even fun to use.
Leading application-layer AI companies already have a fundamental understanding that next-generation products will succeed not by attracting attention, but by not needing attention.
This is a big change. It will change the way success is measured, change the patterns of our work, and may even change society as a whole. In this article, we will explore the meaning and origins of this philosophy. Next time, we’ll dive into specific strategies for building products with this new model.
Technology tends to gradually “disappear”
In 2014, the Harvard University Innovation Lab performed a great demonstration of this concept. The video begins with a 1980s desk filled with computers, calendars, fax machines, and more. Over time, one by one, each item on your desk disappears and is replaced by application software on your computer’s desktop.
We are already on this trajectory. Technology has become easier to use, and the “friction” we experience when using technology today is surprisingly low. (That’s why economic sectors with a lot of friction, so-called “backward industries,” are the perfect breeding ground for AI startups.)
Invisibility begins with simplicity.
“Ultimate simplicity x ultimate efficiency” is the secret to creating successful products. This has been true even before the age of AI began. At the time, Google stood out in the chaotic portal wars with a very simple homepage backed by an innovative and very powerful search engine.
AI allows us to go even further and design product experiences with forward thinking, making them so simple that they truly “disappear.”
why? Because with the advent of AI, it’s the first time that software can actually perform complex actions without human supervision.
Building invisible technology
So how can we use AI, or even software, to regain attention? Indeed, the history of Silicon Valley gives us a roadmap.
In 1991, Mark Weiser, later known as the “Silicon Valley Philosopher,” predicted the arrival of an era of “calm technology.” His vision was that technology should take a backseat in life, rather than being forced into the spotlight.
Mr. Weiser outlined four principles:
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The purpose of a computer is to help you accomplish other things
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The best computers are silent, invisible servants
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Computers should expand your unconscious realm
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Technology must create tranquility
He imagined that we were entering a “third wave” of computing. That is, from mainframes to personal computers (where humans and machines sit “awkwardly staring at each other across desks”) to ubiquitous computing (where technology disappears completely).
When Steve Jobs visited Xerox PARC in 1979, he caught a glimpse of this vision. The original purpose of the iPhone was to free us from our desks. However, even Mr. Jobs was not able to completely escape from the second wave. I replaced my desktop screen with another screen, a portable one. The “attention tax” we have to pay remains high.
AI has finally made Weiser’s vision a reality, as it can perform tasks when users look away. Silently listen behind the scenes of conversations, summarize information in real time, and keep working even while you sleep. For the first time, we have a technology that is valuable even if it doesn’t get noticed.
The interface will eventually become invisible as the intelligence behind it handles all the work, leaving us with blank boxes, voice commands, and perhaps eventually no interface at all.
As these technologies emerge, a major concern is privacy. The power of ambient computing lies in the fact that it does not require continuous monitoring, but at the cost of reducing user exit mechanisms. Many entrepreneurs who are deeply involved in this field are well aware of this, and in most cases, it may not be as serious as it seems.
We are still in the early stages. Most entrepreneurs have not yet developed a product in this way. But the most sensitive people are aware of this trend. They are designing features that aim to expand the unconscious rather than colonize it. This is a philosophy, not just a form of hardware.
We create products that are so good that you forget they exist. They are intelligent enough to not require supervision. They are very valuable, and people choose them not because they can’t take their eyes off them, but because after using them, they can finally look up and observe the world.
Complexity migration
The simpler and more invisible a product appears on the surface, the more complex its underlying foundations are.
The iPhone replaced dozens of physical devices. Suddenly, all your basic needs could be met with one device. What was the result? We started dealing with a much more complex problem than before. We can live stream to millions of people, run our businesses with our phones in our pockets, and watch live concerts from the other side of the world and instantly share them with friends.
The pattern is that when technology takes care of simple, trivial problems in invisible ways, there is an upward shift in human performance. We pursue more complex ambitions and invest cognitive resources in higher-order problems.
AI accelerates this pattern to unprecedented extremes.
Imagine what’s possible when you no longer need to monitor your technology.
You can build a team of AI agents to run your company by working around the clock without direct supervision. Just set the direction and they will handle the execution. You review it and they repeat it. The complexities of running a company will still exist, but the boring minutiae of management will disappear.
During non-driving trips, time spent in the car can become time for deep work, deep rest, or deep conversation as AI takes over tasks that previously required hands and eyes.
Having a system that allows you to customize the perfect course to fit your knowledge gaps and deliver it when you’re most receptive will dramatically increase your learning experience. The difficulty of mastering the field remains, but the inefficiency of random exploration is eliminated.
This does not mean eliminating resistance and making us lazy. That’s a concern many have about the rise of AI. Resistance for the sake of resistance is in no one’s interest. It wastes resources and provides little benefit. However, when solving complex problems, the right amount of challenge is key to promoting progress and learning.
Our goal is to eliminate unnecessary resistance and allow you to try harder things instead of struggling with boring trivialities.
The dream of “gentle technology” wasn’t to keep us in front of a screen longer. Instead, it’s about creating a system that extends your unconscious mind and allows you to continue doing what you were doing before the phone rang.
All of this will become a reality when products stop stealing the spotlight and start augmenting human capabilities.
Creates an atmosphere that feels like taking a walk in the forest
Imagine the daily life of a founder in 2028.
When she woke up, the AI had already sorted through her nightly messages, marked three that needed attention, drafted responses to 12 more, and scheduled two calls based on the time she had negotiated with the other party. She doesn’t even have to open the email.
She discusses AI and product roadmaps during her commute. AI analyzed user feedback, competitor trends, and technological limitations. Ask some clarifying questions. By the time she reaches her destination, the draft strategy is complete. She only needs to spend 20 minutes refining the core idea, whereas the AI has already completed three hours of work.
At investor meetings, she gives it her all. I don’t have a computer or notes. The AI listens next to her, remembers everything, and connects this conversation with the relevant context of the other 40 conversations she’s had this month. After the meeting, AI updates your CRM system, sends follow-up emails, and adjusts your fundraising strategy based on the signals you get.
Technology is invisible. But her company is running faster than it did five years ago. She has the mental space to make more informed decisions. She’ll be less stressed because she won’t be drowning in a sea of notifications. She can be more engaged in every conversation because she doesn’t have to be distracted by remembering details.
The complexity of running a company has not changed. In fact, it is increasing. She is aiming for more ambitious goals than before. However, the “attention tax” she paid was reduced to zero.
This is the world we are building. There is more information than ever before, more possibilities than ever before, and the mental burden is constantly decreasing. Although technology plays the biggest role in how businesses operate, the interactions between people, colleagues, partners, and tools are becoming more human.
Weiser wrote in Scientific American magazine in 1991, “When we walk through the woods, we have more information at our fingertips than any computer system. But while walking in the woods is relaxing, people find using computers frustrating. Machines that adapt to human environments, rather than forcing humans into machine environments, could make using computers as refreshing as walking in the woods.”
Technology has always evolved in an “invisible” direction. The AI completes the last part of this pattern. It makes technology disappear from the experience level.
There is power in it, and its abilities are extraordinary. All of this is within reach for ambitious entrepreneurs.
Translator: Boxy.
