Speech-to-text (STT), Text-to-speech (TTS), LLM == most natural UX/UI for humans. New companies/startups can compete with big corps.
The MC introduced the final fireside session of the day, which focused on the User Interface (UI) for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The discussion panel included Carl Pei from Nothing, Josh Miller from The Browser Company, and Gustaf Söderström from Spotify, moderated by Gustaf.
The discussion began with the concept of an “agentic world” where computers can read, understand, and mimic human behavior, making software move beyond the application model. Josh Miller expressed skepticism about the term “agents” but acknowledged that computers can now see, understand, and do things on our behalf.
Carl Pei from Nothing emphasized the importance of user habits and the difficulty of changing them. He believed that new form factors might be more feasible if they are an evolution of existing products, rather than a completely new design. He cited the example of earbuds with chat GPT integration.
The discussion turned to the topic of disruption and business models. Josh Miller mentioned that disrupting the business model of large companies like Google, Apple, or Microsoft might be the only way for new players to enter the market. He highlighted the example of The Browser Company, which is trying to change the business model of the browser layer.
Gustaf Söderström noted that Spotify has been at the forefront of integrating AI products and that the company tries to do both incremental and revolutionary approaches to product development. He emphasized the importance of meeting users where they are and making the experience more elegant and seamless.
The conversation then turned to the topic of form factors and whether new form factors will emerge with the rise of AGI. Carl Pei expressed skepticism about new form factors and believed that existing products, such as smartphones and earbuds, will continue to evolve.
The discussion then shifted to the topic of user interfaces and whether they will change with the rise of AGI. Josh Miller mentioned that the interfaces might stay similar, but the understanding of who you are and what you do will change, making things more proactive and helpful. Gustaf Söderström noted that the value will accrue to the operating system level and that horizontal coverage of a person’s life and an application runtime underneath is necessary.
The conversation concluded with a discussion on the economics of AI and how the cost of something going down will lead to people doing more of it. Ben Evans’ example of digital spreadsheets was cited, and the panel discussed how new behaviors might emerge when the cost of cognitive tasks goes down.
