The Best User Interface

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Elon Musk made an astute point about the ridiculousness of connecting our intelligence to the global internet through our thumbs on a smartphone. He is creating a better interface to that world through NeuralLink. Steve Jobs was floored by the graphical user interface, which used the desktop metaphor to extend something familiar from the physical world into the virtual world. But I have had the opportunity to be near the elderly for the past few days and there is a certain intensity to the real connections that they have with the physical world around them. They know something that I think we are going to feel silly about once we realize it's truth: Being in the physical presence of another human being is still the optimal user interface for a human being. There is no more efficient way to move forward with any particular shared goal than to have willing participants coming together in the flesh. I have a difficult time feeling comfortable with this truth, but it is undeniably the truth. Eyes, ears, hands, laughs and smiles still are the best user interface for humans.

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