The computer beyond the apps – a vision for the future of computer use
From icons and apps to dialogue and collaboration. With large language models, computer use can take a leap into a future where we interact directly with the computer, instead of through predefined programs.
For nearly forty years, we have used computers in the same way: through programs and apps that someone else has predetermined for us. But with today’s AI technology and large language models (LLMs), there is an opportunity to rethink. What happens if the computer of the future is no longer tied to ready-made programs, but instead takes shape in dialogue with us, here and now?
In a new article, published as the cover story in the international journal ACM Interactions, Mattias Rost, Associate Professor of Interaction Design at the University of Gothenburg, sketches out a vision for a new kind of way of interacting with computers. He calls it LLM-mediated computing.
– This is a possible future for the computer. Instead of always opening an app, we can imagine interacting directly in natural language. The computer’s capabilities then emerges in the dialogue with the user, and the code needed is generated in the moment, says Mattias Rost.
In the article, he discusses the consequences such a shift might have – both opportunities and risks. A computer that is no longer bound to apps could become a more powerful tool for creativity, learning, and problem-solving. But it also raises questions of ethics, responsibility, and predictability: what happens when the computer’s behavior is no longer entirely predetermined?
– We are at a potential crossroads in the development of the computer. Language models make it possible to think differently about what a computer is, and in the article I want to contribute to the conversation about what such a future might look like, says Rost.
At its core, this concerns our perception of what a computer really is.
– A computer has not always been synonymous with applications, icons, and files. And it doesn’t have to be. This opens up a new way of thinking about what a computer can be.
Rost believes it is still unclear who will benefit most from this development and who may face new challenges.
– As I see it, using the computer will become both easier and more difficult. It requires us to relearn at a fundamental level how we interact with it. But I argue that the computer is being liberated, making it possible for more people to take advantage of its full potential.
The article “Reclaiming the Computer through LLM-Mediated Computing” is published in ACM Interactions (vol. 32, nr. 5, September/October, 2025) and has been selected as the cover story. ACM Interactions is an international magazine published by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and addresses researchers, designers, and societal actors interested in the role of technology in society.
You will find a link to the article below.