Jeff John Roberts

Every few years, a big shift in how we interact with computers arrives. In the 1970s we swapped out punch cards for terminals, and then moved on to using a mouse and desktop icons in the 1980s. Today, touch screens and mobile devices are the face of computing.<div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">
But in the near future, voice technology and artificial intelligence will bring about another huge change, says <a href="https://developer.amazon.com/public/resources/other/authors/profiles/paul-cutsinger">Paul Cutsinger</a>, who is head of voice design education for Amazon&#8217;s home assistant, Alexa.
“Design for the ear not the eye—throw away what we know about design today and start fresh,&#8221; Cutsinger told the <a href="http://www.kairossociety.com/">Kairos</a> Global Summit in New York on Friday. &#8220;We need to focus on how things sound, not how they look.&#8221;
Cutsinger believes we&#8217;re not far away from a world of &#8220;ambient computing&#8221; in which today&#8217;s simple interactions (such as &#8220;Alexa, turn on the lights&#8221;) will be replaced with rich and layered discussions. He gave the example of a student having a conversation with a biology textbook.
 <a href="https://fortune.com/getdatasheet/">Get Data Sheet</a>, Fortune’s technology newsletter.
For it to work, though, Cutsinger says developers and designs must reevaluate the use of text and writing. For instance, he points out the way we convey information in writing is very different than how we speak: the process of describing things in a list using commas (as we do when we write) is very efficient, but also comes across as cold and mechanical when spoken out loud.
That&#8217;s why he says computer design must start afresh, and not try to extend existing paradigms of design to conversational AI.
&#8220;Applying what we learned from responsive design for mobile won’t work for voice. If you apply the old principles, you&#8217;ll have a command-and-control system,&#8221; says Cutsinger, explaining that command-and-control makes sense for touchscreen design but not for voice-based interactions.
So how and when will this design revolution arrive? After all, Alexa currently still struggles to recite basic Wikipedia entries, and interacting with her feels far from genuine conversation.
You Can Make Your Amazon Alexa Smarter <div class="vodvideocontainer" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="//fortune.com/videos/embed/d754ab5b-a2a0-4095-9301-627f351176ac" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
While Cutsinger thinks conversational AI is starting to flourish in niches like gaming, he also cited fields like finance and medicine where computer programs &#8220;designed for the ear&#8221; are making progress.
But whatever the pace of progress, it feels like there is no going back in the push towards voice computing. As my colleague, Adam Lashinsky, <a href="https://fortune.com/2017/04/21/data-sheet-google-voice/">suggested</a> while describing <a href="https://fortune.com/company/alphabet/" target="_blank">Google</a> Home&#8217;s latest breakthrough, the new era is already upon us.
&#8220;If the voice-controlled web were to get even better, you could begin to imagine a world where the value of a smartphone was diminished,&#8221; he wrote.
This story was updated on April 26 to clarify Mr. Cutsinger&#8217;s title.</div>

“Design for the ear not the eye. Throw away what we know about design today and start fresh," the head of Amazon Alexa says.

Amazon Alexa Boss Predicts Big Change in Computer Design

legacy

Amazon

Tech

“Design for the ear not the eye — throw away what we know about design today and start fresh."

This Big Change is Coming to Computer Design Says Head of Amazon Alexa

This Major Change Is Coming to Computer Design, Says Head of Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa Boss Predicts Big Change in Computer Design | Fortune

Stuart Dyos

Mark Zuckerberg slams Apple on innovation during Joe Rogan podcast — ‘They haven’t invented anything great in a while’

/2025/01/11/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-podcast-apple-innovation-iphone-sales-third-party-developers/

Bloomberg

Musk says Neuralink implanted third patient with brain device

/2025/01/11/elon-musk-neuralink-third-patient-implanted-brain-device-fda-studies/

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

LA inferno could inflict a $150 billion economic wound, with a grueling 10-year recovery ahead

/2025/01/11/la-wildfires-damages-billions-economic-recovery-decade-estimate/

Christiaan Hetzner

A graffito of the new VW ID Buzz vehicle, a fully electric-driven microbus from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, is pictured next to the commercial vehicle plant of German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) in Hanover, northern Germany

Volkswagen’s successor to its iconic 1960s bus scoops up prestigious award in rare win for struggling carmaker

/2025/01/10/volkswagen-idbuzz-award-ev-sales-tesla-hyundai-chevrolet/

Sasha Rogelberg

Elon Musk puts his finger on his chin in a thinking face

Elon Musk says AI has already gobbled up all human-produced data to train itself and now relies on hallucination-prone synthetic data

/2025/01/10/elon-musk-ai-training-data-running-out-human-synthetic-slop/

Elon Musk listens as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC

Elon Musk aims to reignite Tesla’s fading momentum by making Model Y look like the Cybercab

/2025/01/10/elon-musk-tesla-model-y-refresh-juniper-launch-china-march/

https://fortune.com/2025/01/10/elon-musk-ai-training-data-running-out-human-synthetic-slop/?itm_source=parsely-api

The Associated Press

Hundreds learn the agencies they adopted their children from are accused of kidnapping babies that moms didn’t want to give up

https://fortune.com/2025/01/02/south-korea-adoption-agency-fraud-families-learn-adopted-children-stolen-kidnapped/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/2025/01/10/elon-musk-tesla-model-y-refresh-juniper-launch-china-march/?itm_source=parsely-api

Alexa Mikhail

Tech founder who spends $2 million a year to live forever says he's always hungry: 'The saddest part of my day is the last bite'

https://fortune.com/well/2025/01/10/bryan-johnson-netflix-documentary-2-million-live-forever-hungry/?itm_source=parsely-api

Andrew Nusca

Fortune Editors

Mark Cuban's exclusive Fortune interview: ‘People think insurance companies have all the power. They don’t.’

https://fortune.com/2025/01/09/mark-cuban-cost-plus-drugs-pharmaceutical-prices-health-insurance-employers-ai-interview/?itm_source=parsely-api

Hallie Steiner

Delta CEO announces plan to share $1.4 billion of profit with employees and hints at the future of SkyMiles

https://fortune.com/2025/01/10/delta-ceo-announces-billion-dollar-profit-share-future-sky-miles/?itm_source=parsely-api