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Natural Language: The Final Boss in Human-Computer Interaction (or is it?)

Natural language AI is breaking the final barrier in human-computer interaction, transforming ideas into action and unlocking a future where communication is effortless and universally accessible.

Zvonimir Fras

• 2 min read
Natural Language: The Final Boss in Human-Computer Interaction (or is it?)
LLMs and AI are the next level of interpreters converting thoughts and ideas into action.

What do I mean by that?

Communicating with computers in natural language was always the goal.
But it was hard to achieve so we translated our thoughts into languages computers understood.

Progression of abstraction over time
  1. Binary (1940s): The most fundamental level, direct machine code using only 1s and 0s
  2. Hexadecimal (1950s): A more manageable representation of binary, using base-16
  3. Assembly (1950s): The first human-readable symbolic representation of machine code
  4. C (1970s): A high-level language that still maintained close hardware control
  5. Modern Languages (1990s-present): Python, Java, JavaScript focusing on developer productivity
  6. Natural Language Processing (Present): AI systems beginning to understand human language

With every additional abstraction, the closer we got to natural language, the more people were able to communicate their ideas with computers. And computers executed it without getting tired or making mistakes.

Layers of abstraction with examples

The progress accelerated.

Natural language is the final boss. Computers can soon meet us half-way and enable us to remove the barrier of translating into their language. This will unlock even more people to communicate their ideas and make them actionable.

Real-World Applications

This journey toward natural language is already revolutionizing how we interact with technology:

  • Coding: Tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Replit agent and friends turn natural language into functional code.
  • Customer Support: AI agents can already replace humans for common inquiries and 24/7 support.
  • Accessibility: AI helps individuals with disabilities communicate more effectively.

Bonus: Communicating at the Speed of Thought

Or is natural language the final boss? Communicating at the speed of thought instead of having to put it into words is next. Blurring the lines between organic and machine intelligence.

  • Brain-Computer Interfaces: Direct thought-to-action systems are already in experimental stages.
  • Organic-Machine Merging: Blurring the lines between biological and machine intelligence.
    This next step raises profound ethical and societal questions but could redefine how we create and innovate.