Composing a new platform for agent-first devices - Command Line
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Composing a new platform for agent-first devices
Composing a new platform for agent-first devices
New interaction technology enables new types of computers.
By Steven BathicheCVP & Technical Fellow, Applied Sciences Group, Microsoft
Abstract
What changes when agents become both a new unit of programming and an emerging new unit of human-to-machine interaction? The mission of Project Solara, a new software platform coupled with tailored hardware solutions, is to pioneer agent-first experiences that are shaped around you: your agents, your tasks, your environment, under your control. So, what’s different this time from previous generations of computers? Agents and AI accelerate the creation of even more specialized computers without incurring the full cost and tradeoffs that in the past limited the creation, diversity, and specialization of those new forms. We imagine a diverse ecosystem of agent-first devices, from small to large, from fixed to hypermobile, from personal to professional. We’re starting this journey with two concepts designed for the enterprise—and we’re excited to navigate this transformation with you all.
I manage the Applied Sciences Group, an interdisciplinary team that brings together product engineering, research, and the sciences to explore what comes next in computing. The rise of agents is changing not only how software is built, but how people interact with computers—and ultimately, what new kinds of computers may become possible. We are excited to give you an early look at where we believe computing is headed, and what the next computer may look like.
The next computer
When we think of a computer, we tend to picture something familiar: a laptop, a phone, maybe a tablet. But computing has never really stood still. It keeps moving closer to us, closer to the work, closer to the moment where it can provide the most value.
Mainframes did not disappear when PCs arrived. PCs did not disappear when phones arrived. Phones did not disappear when watches arrived. Each new form became more specialized, closer to you, closer to the solution you need. Each one found a new place in our lives because it was better suited to a specific context, a specific task, or a specific moment. So, what’s next?
Agents as the new interaction technology
At Build 2023, I shared my perspective on three emerging AI application structures, shaped by how AI functions relative to your application: Is the AI beside your app, inside it, or outside it?
In the first application structure, the AI is beside your application, it’s like a helper. It keeps the original app architecture and is minimally disruptive to what our customers already know.
In the second application structure, the AI is inside, as part of the main scaffolding; it becomes the main input loop. Here, AI is used to redefine the application’s interaction model and even its purpose. The experience becomes less dependent on point-and-click commands and becomes more automatic. This is where we are seeing the emergence of agents (for example, Researcher and Agent Mode in Office) and AI-first applications.
The third AI application structure is where AI moves from operating within the application frame to operating outside it, globally. Here, AI orchestrates across multiple apps and services, allowing the agent to connect, coordinate, and maintain context across entire workflows, across devices, and even across very different timescales. Current examples include the recent emergence of various claws (like OpenClaw and Lobster), coworker-like agents, and similar systems.
And so here we are today where agents are a new unit of programming and the new unit of human-to-machine interfaces, changing the way people interact and use their computers. And as we have seen many times in the past, new interaction...